Truth or Dare
by Mini Reyes
Summary: A game of truth or dare in the early hours of the morning while drunk is never a good idea. Especially if you have secrets to hide, but even more so if you're part of a conspiracy. Cophine, elaborates on Leekie/Delphine/Cosima and Kira/Sarah and clones. WIP.
1. Chapter 1

Prompt by i-was-eating-pizza-when-i: Cosima finds out about Delphine sleeping with Leekie.

They all knew that they shouldn't be playing this game as they would all potentially regret the things that could happen or be said as a result, in the morning. But no one was sober enough to care anymore.

"Okay, Alison," Felix said, "Truth or dare?" he asked the suburban clone, knocking another shot back and slamming the small glass onto the table.

"Dare." Alison answered, looking at Felix as square in the eyes as possible.

"Alrighty then," He said, "I dare you to… kiss Cosima!" He said.

"What?!" Alison and Cosima both shrieked.

"Come on Alison," Felix said, shaking the foul concoction in a separate glass in front of him, "Or would you rather drink this?" He said, looking into the off orange liquid.

Everyone turned their noses up at the drink, none of them could remember what they had put in it anymore but there were black dots floating in the top of it and no one wanted to try the drink to find out what they were.

"But she's me! She's practically my sister!" Alison cried with a hiccup in the middle. Felix held the drink out to Alison but she pushed it away, "Fiiiiine," Alison drawled, leaning across the circle and kissing Cosima's cheek.

"Heeeey!" Felix whined.

"You didn't say where I had to kiss her," She said smugly and half fell over as she tried to sit back. Felix grumbled but otherwise remained quiet, "Okay, lets seeeeee… Delphine!" Alison said suddenly, looking at the blonde.

"Oui?" She asks, her French accent thicker than normal.

"Truth or dare?" Alison whispers conspiratorially.

"Truth," Delphine answered, she is not much of a dare devil and she figures that she can probably get away with lying seeing as they don't know her that well yet. Well, except Cosima.

"Did you and Cosima really, you know," She says waving her hands and avoiding words, "do it?" She whispers.

Delphine frowns, not quite comprehending and the alcohol was making her even more fuzzy, "'It'?" she asks.

"You know," Alison stressed, "have… sex?" She giggles at the word like a young teenager.

"Oui!" Delphine confirms before she can stop herself and Alison gasps.

"Where?! When! Cosima why didn't you tell us about this?" She asks.

"I am to understand that you are only allowed to ask one question?" Delphine asks to confirm and Alison pouts.

"Hey Cosima," Sarah said, interrupting the conversation, "I thought you said that you were 'going to approach Delphine way more logically' then the way I 'approached' Paul?" Sarah pointed out.

"Yeah Dude and I totally kept my word," Cosima said.

"How do figure? I screwed Paul, you screwed French over there-"

"Well unlike you I didn't just push her onto a table within the first ten seconds of knowing her and shag her on the kitchen table, I was much more logical about it!" Cosima said.

"I don't think you even tried…" Sarah mumbled.

"Okay, I'm asking another question," Felix butted in to change the subject.

"You just had a go," Sarah all but whined.

"Fine, I'll ask you," He said, "Truth or dare?" He asked.

"Truth," Sarah said, and though she was a dare devil, she was getting the idea of Felix's perverted brain and didn't want to have to kiss one of her clones or Delphine.

"If I told you to go fuck yourself, which of your clones would you pick?" He said.

Cosima bursts out laughing, hysterical fits of laughter as she understood what Felix was saying, essentially they were all the same person genetically, she found the irony of the fact that they could technically screw themselves with each other, highly amusing.

"Oh god Fe!" Was Sarah reaction, "I dunno, I don't listen to you when you say shite like that," She said.

"But if you had to, if your life depended on it, who would you shag?" He asked.

"That would never happen Fe," Sarah argued.

"Maybe Leekie is more of a bastard than we thought, perhaps he'd hold a gun to ya head and give the choice to shag or die, come on Sarah, hypothetically who would you shag?" He asked eagerly.

"Uhh, Cosima I guess," She said.

"Me?" Cosima said, pointing to herself, "I'm flattered," She said but also tugged at Delphine, "All the ladies love me," She drunkenly bragged.

"I knew it!" Felix yelled in reference to Sarah's answer.

Alison pretended to be hurt, "We just don't click," Sarah said, "And may I remind you that Katja is dead-"

"She would be your next choice?" Fe asked.

"No! I didn't say that! Helena is my sister and also dead and Rachel is a proclone bitch!" Sarah said as a way of reasoning.

"Well, when you put it like that…" Felix said and then rethought his words, "No it still doesn't make sense…" The alcohol was affecting his logical thinking.

"That's cos you're drunk, Fe," Sarah said.

Cosima pulled out a joint from seemingly nowhere and lit it up.

"Hey, so are you," Felix retorted and then spotted Cosima, "Hey!" He said and waited till the clone looked at him, which she did and blew smoke in his face, "Sharesies?" He asked.

"It's pot," Cosima says, handing to him.

"Since when do you smoke?" Sarah asked Felix.

"Since now," Felix decided.

"Okay okay," Cosima interrupted, taking her joint back, "I want to ask a question now," She said and turned to her girlfriend, the order of the questioning having been completely ruined, "Delphine, who was the last male you got it on with?" She asked, genuinely curious. But if she knew the answer, she would not have asked the question, "Oh and where did you do it?" She asked as an after thought, her eyes alight with humour and drunkenness as she smoked.

"Uhm," Delphine stalled, "Lee-Lachlan," She lied, "Lachlan Lee?" She said but the words sounded horribly fake even to her.

"LEEKIE?!" Cosima yelled, sitting up straight and unconsciously moving back a bit, "HOLY WATERSHED! YOU SLEPT WITH LEEKIE?!" She cried, her voice cracking with emotion. Delphine winced.

"WHAT?!" Felix and Alision both yelled in unison and Sarah sprayed her drink out before covering her mouth.

"I-I-" Delphine didn't know what to say, what do you say to that?

Cosima scrambled to her feet, swaying as she did so but suddenly feeling a little more sober, "Well?" She demanded, "What do you have to say for yourself?" She asked, and waited expectantly but Delphine just stuttered, trying about three or four different sentence starters, "Nothing?!" Cosima asked as a tear fell from her cheek, "So Sarah was right to tell me to stay away from you?" She asked and Delphine looked up at her with wide-ish eyes.

"No! Cosima I-"

"You spy banged me like Sarah spy banged Paul only you double crossed me and banged Leekie as well!" Cosima said, waving her hands crazily, "As if it wasn't bad enough you ratted me out to him but you had to shag him as well?" Her voice thick with emotion as she felt her chest pounding, "What, was I not enough for you huh? Did he please you better did he? Or did he just tease you more?" Cosima taunted, but her raw sorrow that was held just under the surface was breaching through.

"Cosima! That is not fair!" Delphine gasped, "I-"

"What happened to 'he's too old'?" Cosima asked, her hazy mind trying to figure out how to process this new information.

"Cosima please, let me-"

"Whose side are you on Delphine?" She asked, a few tears unwittingly falling from her eyes, she wiped at them angrily, "Because what ever side you're on, it's not mine…" She said, "How could you do that Delphine? To me?" She asked in the same, broken tone that she had spoken in when she asked 'how can I believe that Delphine?' in their previous fight. Her voice broke and it was plainly evident how much the woman was hurting just by her voice if not by the hot tears that slipped out of her eyes.

The other three remained silent as they watched the lovers fight, having no idea what to say or where they should stand on the argument.

"Cosima you don't understand the situation!" Delphine tried desperately, rising off the floor and reaching for Cosima who stepped away and turned around as she was fiercely trying to wipe the tears from her eyes and scour the evidence of them from her cheeks.

"You know what I don't want to hear it. Save it for someone who cares!" She half yelled and half cried, making her way to the door as best she could through blurry eyes. She slammed the door open and staggered.

"Cosima!" Delphine calls and hangs her head, closing her eyes to stop her own tears. She walked away from the group on the floor and went and hid in the bathroom, sobbing quietly behind the beaded curtain.

"Well, that just got a whole lot of awkward…" Sarah said, breaking the silence.

"Oh my," Alison said, touching her neck, "who should we go to first?!" She asked, "Can we even trust Delphine anymore?" She asked.

"We've all shagged the enemy Alison, just with Cos the enemy also shagged another of our enemies and… this is getting to confusing for two in the morning, I'm going after Cos," Sarah said, rising and going after the dreadlocked clone.

Alison and Felix looked at each other, whispering, or attempting to whisper, about who should go talk to Delphine, "I can't go," Alison said, "I have to hate her for hurting Cosima!" She said.

"What am I to do?" Felix said, "You all try to keep me in dark about everything that nothing makes much sense anymore," He said.

"You're good at talking Felix, go help her," She said, reaching for the bottle of wine in front of her but then realising it was empty and placing it back down again. She rose and went over to the couch.

Sarah found Cosima just outside the building, shaking like a leaf as she tried to cover up her cries, "Cosima?" Sarah called, not wanting to frighten her, "It's just me," She said, standing in front of her identical being.

Cosima looked up at Sarah, not bothering to hide her tears because she knew she couldn't if she tried. Cosima held her arms out like a hurt child and Sarah, ever the mother, pulled her into her arms and hugged her, rubbing her back. She could hear Cosima's irregular breathing against her ear.

"I wanted to trust her Sarah," Cosima said, and she tried to take a deep breath but as she did so she could feel the need to cough rising. She tried to supress is, she didn't want everyone to know she was sick, she didn't want all the 'are you ok?'s and tip toeing around and the pity, she most certainly didn't want to see the looks of pity, "Sarah, Sarah she told me that-that she fell for me." She said, trying not to cry.

"Cos, don't tell me you believe her? She'll say anything, it's her job to watch you, I'm sorry Cosima but you're just her assignment, she can't have feelings for you," Sarah said.

These were not the kind of words that Cosima wanted to hear, "No!" Cosima defended, her breath coming in faster, shorter gasps, "No, Delphine was convincing!" She said and covered her mouth as she began to cough from the stress that her emotional state was putting on her body.

"She slept with the enemy because she is the enemy," Sarah said and then began to get concerned that Cosima hadn't stopped coughing, "Cosima are you okay?" She asked and Cosima nodded but Sarah didn't believe her, "What's going on Cosima?!" Sarah asked, "Cosima!"

The dreadlocked clone suddenly fell and Sarah clumsily caught her, but barely. She placed her clone on the ground carefully and checked to see that she was still breathing and her heart beating. Check and check.

"FELIX!" Sarah yelled, "FE! ALISON!" She yelled and fumbled in her pocket for her phone, dialling 911, "FELIX!" She yelled again and then the door crashed open, "Think quick!" She said, tossing him the phone and turning back to Cosima.

"Sarah what happened?!" Felix asked, catching the phone only by a fluke.

"I dunno what happened Fe she just collapsed! Get the ambulance here!" She cried, pointing wildly at the phone and then returning her attention to Cosima, trying to wake her.

She was knelt by the woman's side, holding her wrist to continuously check that her heart kept beating and tapping her cheek lightly to try and rouse Cosima, "Cosima," She called, "Wake up Cosima, come on, wake up Cos…" She pleaded, wiping blood from the woman's lips and staring at it in horror.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah lifted her head from Cosima's bed, cracking her neck to straighten out the kinks as she checked on the woman in question. She hadn't moved at all and only the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor told her that Cosima was still alive.

"Miss. Manning?" A voice called and Sarah jumped, looking over her shoulder she saw a doctor enter.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," He said, "you should really go home and get some sleep."

"Just slept."

"Properly Miss. Manning. We'll call you when she wakes up."

"Sarah," She corrected, she hated being called by her surname, "And I can't drive," Sarah said, grabbing her head as it started to pound its revenge, "I am probably still drunk," The doctor nodded his understanding and opened his mouth to speak but Sarah got in before him, "And I came here in the ambulance with Cos."

"We'll get you a taxi then Miss- err, Sarah," He said and then left the room.

Sarah turned and sat on the edge of Cosima's bed, watching her clone. The doctor didn't know they were clones though. Obvs. She told them that they were triplets but that their other sister, Alison was at home. That way there wouldn't be to much of an identity crisis if they were all in the same room once.

Sarah observed Cosima, she didn't look terminally ill, frail or pale. She looked normal aside from the machines and wires and leads going in all directions.

"Sarah?" Sarah jumped again and looked over at the door where the doctor had appeared, "There is a taxi waiting downstairs for you," He said and then left.

With a last glance at Cosima she picked up her jacket and left the hospital and hoped into the taxi, instructing him on where to go and then promptly falling asleep in the back seat.

A loud bang jolted Sarah from her dreamless sleep, "We're here," The driver said and Sarah looked out the window to get her bearings.

"Keep the change," Sarah mumbles as she slips some change through the divider to the driver and exiting the vehicle.

Her head is pounding as she climbs the stairs to Felix's loft, her jacket swinging from her hand. Sarah pulls back the door and poor Delphine was unlucky enough to be the first thing Sarah saw. Her anger flared and she stormed over to the figure sleeping on the couch. How could she be sleeping at a time like this?! Why was she even still there?! Sara raged inwardly.

"WAKE UP!" Sarah yelled and the whole apartment jumped in fright.

Delphine almost jumped out of her skin as she started in fright and sat up quickly, "Sarah! How is Cosima?!" Delphine wanted to know.

"GET OUT!" Sarah yelled, pointing to the still open door.

Delphine couldn't help but see Cosima in the way Sarah yelled the exact phrase that Cosima had. She picked up her already packed bag, "Sarah, which hospital is Cosima in? It is important that I speak to her."

"No. You will stay away from Cosima or the next time I see you I will _kill_ you for what you've done to her," Sarah said with venom, standing close and glaring at Delphine, "The only reason you were ever let in my home was because of Cosima. She wanted you around, she trusted you not us. Now get. Out." She said sharply.

With defeat and down cast eyes Delphine left the loft. She leaves the building and then drops her bag to the pavement and covers her face as she cries. She couldn't help it, everything was overwhelming her.

_GET OUT!_

_I'm sick Delphine._

_You slept with Leekie?!_

_I can't go, I have to hate her for hurting Cosima._

_I don't want to hear it. Save it for someone who cares!_

_Next time I see you I will kill you for what you've done to Cosima._

She stood there, her body shaking as she cried. She didn't cry because the others hated her or because Sarah threatened to kill her and also kicked her out, but she cried because had lost Cosima for a second time. And she was sure Cosima wouldn't take her back again.

Her phone rang suddenly and caused her to jump, it was Leekie. She stared at her phone while she heatedly debated with herself whether or not to answer and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Bonjour Leekie," She answered.

"Delphine, where are you? You're not at your apartment."

"No, I am in Canada with Cosima… She knows Aldous," She said and waited breathlessly for a reply and panicked when the reply was not immediate.

"We need to talk, come see me at the hotel." He said and hung up.

Delphine sniffed, putting her phone back in her pocket and she went to her car, throwing her bags in the boot and then getting in the drivers seat. She waited with conflicted emotions for the text that would arrive with the address of the hotel.

_How long can I keep up the charade?_

Her phone beeped and she hesitated as she had with the phone call but once again answering Leekie's call she pulled away from the curb and headed for the hotel. But in her distracted state however she did not see the black Jaguar that pulled out after her and followed her.

The drive was wonderful for her because it forced her to focus on something other than Cosima and her conflicting emotions. Delphine pulled up easily and parked, existing her vehicle with grace she found Leekie exiting the building to meet her.

The Jaguar pulled up three cars behind Delphine and Sarah watched from her car, disgusted as Leekie embraced Delphine, kissed her cheek and with an arm around her waist led her inside. Sarah stretched her legs out across the centre console and the passenger seat, turning on her ipod and preparing for the long wait that came with surveillance.

Inside, Leekie led Delphine passed the reception desk through the elaborate hotel's lobby and into the elevator. The ride was silent and so was the walk down the green carpet corridor, Leekie broke the silence once they were in their room and away from anyone who might overhear them, "What happened with Cosima?" He asked, pulling her close and brushing aside the silky curls, dropped kisses on her neck.

Delphine hesitated yet again. She needed the comfort that Leekie was offering even it was purely physical but she was debating over what was right. If she told Leekie what had happened, would she be betraying Cosima again? Could she be a double agent by lying to Leekie and Cosima at the same until she figured out who she should follow? What would Leekie do if he found out Cosima was sick? Would he want to bring her to Dyad and study her like a lab rat? What would happen to her if she lied to Leekie and then he found out?

Delphine couldn't answer of any of these questions, "Cosima and I fought," She settled for, standing still as Leekie moved around her.

"Why did she come here?" He asked, moving to stand behind her and undoing the first button on her shirt.

"She has friends here, she came to see them."

"Did she make contact with Alison Hendrix or Sarah Manning?" He asked

Delphine was conflicted but she couldn't just rat out the other clones and hand them over to Leekie, "Aldous Cosima knows."

Leekie stopped and Delphine turned to him, buttoning up her shirt, "What did you tell her?" He asked.

"Nothing!" Delphine assured, "She knew from the beginning who I was, that's why she was so bold and coy, she was playing us Aldous and she confronted me about it. Cosima had found our group photo on the Dyad website I could not lie to her about who I was. She knew I'd told you that she was in contact with the other clones, I don't know how she knew but she knew. Aldous, is she safe? Is Cosima safe?" She asked, desperation seeping into her voice as she asked.

"Where have you been all this time?" He asked and Delphine remained silent for she refused to lie, "What did you say to Cosima? You must have said something to gain her trust back."

"I-I helped her break the code on her genome," She said, biting her lip, "but nothing else!" Leekie pushed Delphine away from him and she fell, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her heart, "I swear Aldous I didn't tell her anything else!" She was pleading for life now.

"You're a liability, you know too much," He stood over her, preparing the weapon to be fired. Delphine closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying to prepare for what was about to happen. But how do you prepare to die?


	3. Chapter 3

A knock on the door sounded and Leekie froze.

Delphine kicked the gun out of Leekie's hand and got up quickly, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back painfully, "I'm not doing this anymore, I won't Aldous. I can't." She kicked the gun under the bed and made a dash for the door, opening it and racing towards the stairs.

Leekie had to stop to look for the gun for a moment and then deciding that it would take too long, chased after the blonde immunologist. He ran into the corridor and figured that she would have gone for the stairs.

Delphine was already three flights down before she heard the door crash open and her name be called.

"Delphine! You know we will find you!" Leekie called, looking over the rail to see where she was as he followed her.

But Delphine was younger, fitter and faster and she made it down all ten flights of stairs without so much as a sweat while Leekie was panting after the fourth flight.

Sarah bolted upright as she saw Delphine come flying out of the hotel doors, dropping her bag of chips onto the seat beside her, she turned the car on and watched as Delphine sped off and then she followed.

_Where is she going?_ She wondered as she drove around the block.

Sarah's phone rang but she ignored it.

_She's driving in circles, what is- oh shite has she seen me?_

The phone insistently rang again so she answered it, putting it on hands free and tossing it onto the seat beside her, "What?!" She yelled down to the phone, keeping her eyes firmly on the road.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah!" She responded, not really listening to whoever was on the phone as she concentrated on tailing Delphine who was speeding well above the speed limit down the town streets until; "You're sister is awake and asking for you."

_Delphine, or Cosima?_

Making a split second decision she slammed on the brakes and made a u-turn, heading back in the direction of the hospital. They could find Delphine another day, Cosima was more important.

Delphine was long gone when Leekie burst out onto the street, phone in hand, "We have a problem- No not that, we have another problem! What? Oh," His tone suddenly became calmer, "324B21 is in the hospital? This is an interesting development…" _Delphine didn't mention that Cosima was sick…_."Alright, send in Dr. Jordan Devlin for an extraction and then send a team of sweepers to clean up a mess with Delphine Cormier. She's turned clone." He paused as he listed to his subordinate question him, "Did I stutter? I said that our leading immunologist has turned clone on us! It's not your job to think just follow orders!" Leekie barked down the phone and then ended the call. He was not supposed to make decisions but there was ass covering to be done.

Meanwhile, Sarah had pulled up at the hospital and was chatting with Cosima's doctor.

"Are you aware of her condition?" He asked.

"No, what condition? All I know is she started coughing her internal organs out last night," Sarah exaggerated.

"Well actually we're not too sure what's going on, we've checked for respiratory disease and that came back negative, we checked for cancer, pulmonary or aorta damage… the bottom line is that we don't really know what is wrong with your sister, but it seems like her lungs are degenerating."

Sarah nodded, taking in everything he was saying, "But will she be alright? Can't you just give her like a lung transplant or something?! Don't sugar coat it."

"She's terminally ill, we can't estimate how long she has because we don't know the rate at which her lungs are collapsing, and I don't think that you appreciate how difficult it is to do a lung transplant and she'd need both replaced. And aside from all the therapy she'd be in, we don't even know if a transplant would help. Look, we'll keep trying to find out what's going on but right now there is not too much we can do except monitor her rate of deterioration."

"Okay," Sarah replied with a huff, running her hands through her hair, "Can I see her then?"

"Yes, but just be mindful not to get her worked up," He said and then left to carry on with his other duties.

Sarah turned and found her way to Cosima's room, watching the dreadlocked girl as she stared out the window for a moment before entering, "Hey."

Cosima turned sharply, "Sarah! What happened? Why am I here? Where is everyone? Where is Delphine?" She asked.

"Whoa settle done Cos or you'll give yourself a heart attack as well," Sarah started, jumping onto Cosima's bed, "What do you remember from last night? Do you remember nearly coughing yourself to death and passing out?"

Cosima remembered most of the night, much to her despair, but that's not why her eyes went animatedly wide, "What?" She squeaked, "So, so you know then? That I'm sick?"

"Sick?! The doc says you're dying Cosima why didn't you tell us?! This is what the German had wasn't it?"

"Yes, it's what the German had and I didn't want you to know," Cosima said, feeling useless just lying half reclined in a hospital bed.

"Why not Cosima? We need to keep the lines of communication open, how are we supposed to help you if you don't tell us what's going on?"

"Because I don't want your help! I don't want everyone tip toeing around the dying clone and constantly asking me if I'm okay, I don't want your pitying looks and everyone doing everything for me like I'm some sort of invalid. I want my independence and I wont let you take that from me. I've accepted that I'm dying but I'm not resigned to death, I've been trying to find a cure since Beth contacted me about Katja but I can't do a damned thing if I'm bound to a hospital bed!" Cosima finished, her voice maintaining her soft tone with a subnote of her underlying emotions.

"Okay Cosima so we wont ask, we'll wait for you to tell us what's going on and you can come to us if want help instead of us offering. But what about Delphine?" Sarah asked.

Cosima's expression dropped at the mention of the blonde immunologist, "What about her?" She asked and sniffed.

"Well what are you going to do now that you know that she slept with Leekie?"

"I…. I don't know Sarah, I don't even know what I'm feeling let alone know what I am going to do about Delphine. Does she know I'm here?"

"Yes-no, ugh," Sarah stopped, pinching the bridge of her nose as she gathered her thoughts, "Felix told her that you're in the hospital but she doesn't know which hospital."

"Okay, I don't want her to see me yet, not till I figure myself out. But I do want to see her."

"Sure thing Cos, but uh… there's something you should know."

"What?" Cosima asked.

"I followed Delphine this morning after I kicked her out-"

"What! Sarah! Why would you do that?" Cosima asked, getting angry, "You had no right-"

"Cosima just shut up and listen yeah? She went straight back Leekie and probably sold us all out."

"No!" Cosima defended, "No she can't have! Sarah did you ask her why she was there?"

"No she came running out of that hotel like a bat out of hell and started driving in circles. Cosima I think it's time that you move on from her, it's clear that she's not on side like she keeps saying. And if I see her again I'm going to punch her in the face."

Cosima shook her head as her emotions caught up with her again, she was too emotionally attached to Delphine to see clearly and make an objective decision. Her breathing sped up with her emotions and her whirring mind. She covered her face with her hands as she started to cough.

Sarah quickly passed Cosima the tissues, feeling guilty that she had worked Cosima up to such a state and unfortunately for Sarah, a passing doctor heard Cosima's coughs and entered the room to check on the patient, "Miss I think it would be best if you left now," She said.

Sarah begrudgingly got off the bed, "I'm sorry Cos," She said and then left the hospital room but stopped just outside and lent against the wall.

Cosima held her breath to stop the coughing fit and once the assisting nurse was assured that Cosima was okay, she left, shooing Sarah out with her.

The silence gave her time too think. Cosima took the time to work out her thoughts, she knew that she was still emotionally connected to Delphine but she just couldn't seem to break their connection no matter how many times Delphine hurt her.

_Oh god, have I fallen for her?!  
_  
The mere thought send a wave of euphoria through her.

_But... can I trust her? Could this ever even work?!_

There was a war raging itself in her head because she undeniably infatuated with Delphine. That much was_ painfully_ obvious, to _everyone_, they could hear it with every word she spoke about the blonde immunologist. Cosima wanted to trust her, to confide in her, but she wasn't sure if she should.

_Why would she go back to Leekie? Did she really lie to me when she said she was on our side? Did she come after me on her own terms or was that Leekie directing her? Trying to find out how much we know? Her signals are too conflicting, helping Leekie but then helping me figure out the patent… I don't understand whose side she is on._

Sarah exited the building but her mind was a billion miles away, which was why she crashed into someone, "So-" She started to apologise but upon looking up and finding who she had run into, she stopped, "Delphine." She said the name with a venomous tone and slapped her, "What are you doing here?" She asked and being on the top step gave her a height advantage over the tall immunologist, "You stay away from Cosima or I swear I will do a hell of alot more then slap you."

"Sarah I know you are angry-"

"I'm beyond angry, I'm pissed! You hurt Cosima once and she took you back, but her again and then again a third time. The hurt stops here. I wont let you hurt her a fourth time."

"Sarah I must speak to Cosima, you don't understand, this is-"

"No I think I understand perfectly," She said, standing intimidatingly over Delphine, "I saw you with Leekie, I know you're still being his little bitch." She spat angrily, pushing Delphine down a step with a glare, daring her to fight back.

Delphine sighed and realising that she wasn't going to get passed Sarah, she turned away, ignoring her stinging cheek. She would come back later.

Delphine went back to her car and sat in the drivers seat, watching Sarah as she got in Beth's Jaguar and watched her.


	4. Chapter 4

Delphine waited till the next day and then went back to the hospital. Sarah was no where in sight. She made her way through halls and enquired at the front desk as to where Miss Cosima Niehaus was staying. The receptionist at the desk gave her the number of the room and directions on how to find her way through the seemingly identical wards. Delphine went up three floors and down five corridors before she found Cosima's room.

Delphine payed no attention to the sounds exiting the room and walked straight in without thinking.

Alison was standing beside Cosima's bed and talking animatedly with her back to the door, but Cosima spotted the movement and looked to see what it was. Alison saw Cosima's eyes flicker as she interrupted her, "Delphine." Cosima said with surprise.

Alison turned, "Well you've got some nerve coming here," Alison commented and Delphine stood there awkwardly, much like she had when she stood in the door way of Felix's loft.

Delphine was jut glad that Sarah wasn't there, "I need to speak with Cosima, please."

Alison looked at Cosima for confirmation who nodded, "Its okay Alison," Cosima said, "We have a lot we need to talk about."

Alison looked between the two, "Alright then," She said, grabbing her jacket from the chair.

They waited till Alison left before speaking, "Took you three days to come speak to me?" Cosima asked.

"Cosima I am honestly sorry, it took me a while to find you."

"Find me?" Cosima was confused, "You found me across a continent but you couldn't find which hospital I was in?"

"Sarah would not tell me what hospital you were in and when I figured it out I was unfortunate enough to have Sarah bump into me on her way out, she threatened me to stay away from you and watched me until I left. But Cosima, that is not what I wanted to speak to you about-" Delphine was speaking quickly to the point of almost rambling.

"Hang on, how did you find me before?"

Delphine paused, taking a breath to stall answering, "Leekie."

"And what? He wouldn't help you this time?" Cosima challenged.

"I did not want his help Cosima, I told you, I'm on your side now."

"So you asked Leekie for help to find me and I'm supposed to believe that you're on my side?"

"I turned the benches on him as you say, I asked him to tell me where you went, he told me and I said to him that you were on holidays and I wanted to surprise you, I lied to him so he wouldn't know that I was betraying him and so that it would give us some more time before Leekie came after me ."

"Tables," Cosima corrected, "the phrase is turn the tables."

"Oh..." Delphine mumbled quietly, staying by the door and looking at the floor. Before she came in she had it all planned out, she knew exactly what she would say to Cosima but now she couldn't remember a thing.

"Delphine I'm sorry," Cosima said all of a sudden and Delphine's gaze snapped up to Cosima's eyes with confusion, "I'v e had far too much time to think while I've been stuck here and I realise that I quite over reacted when you told us that you slept with Leekie. I shouldn't have run off like that or yelled at you…. And you were right, I had no right to say the things I did."

Delphine drew a shaky breath, closing Cosima's door and then cautiously approaching her bed, "I probably should have said something to you but I couldn't bare to think about it let alone say it. I know it's not an excuse, but it's all I have."

"Delphine I want to believe you, I really, really want to be able to trust you….But…..Is there anything else I need to know?" Cosima asked, giving her the chance to come clean about everything.

"Cosima... I-I want you to understand why I did what I did. Will you give me the chance to explain?" Cosima nodded, she both wanted and needed to know what Delphine had to say, "Leekie never gave me a reason to doubt him, I didn't think that he would lie to me so I believed him when he said that you were danger, Cosima. I was, what is the word, naïve, to believe him, yes, but you see I've known him many years and I trusted him, he even knows my father. They worked together and when my Father retired, Leekie offered me my Fathers job... I only told him that you knew the other girls because I thought I was helping to keep you safe!" Delphine explained.

"Okay, so what about sleeping with Leekie?" Cosima asked.

"That, was... Complicated, it was not supposed to happen and I didn't really want it to. It's difficult to explain..." Delphine looked at Cosima who seemed to accept the answer.

"Okay... Soooo..."

"Cosima, I-" Delphine paused, biting her lip for a moment as she mentally chose the best words to say what she needed to, "Sarah was very angry when she came back to Felix place and she told me to leave. Then Leekie called me, he knew that I had followed you here and he wanted me to meet with him..." She was watching Cosima closely but her face remained as neutral as possible, "I met with him, Cosima, I didn't know what to do, I didn't have anywhere else to go. He wanted to know where you were and if you'd met the other clones but I didn't tell him! I swear it! He..." Delphine closed her eyes for a moment, biting her lip with dread. She knew she had to tell Cosima everything if there was ever a chance that they could fix their relationship, but in truth she was rather ashamed of herself, "I foolishly told him that we figured the patent out which made him quite mad. Very angry in fact... But I'm never going to talk to him or see him again, Cosima, ever. I promise you. He is a bad man as well as a liar."

She decided to skip the part about nearly being shot, she could fill Cosima in on the danger when they were both somewhere safe.

Cosima sat still and her lack of reaction worried Delphine. She waited for a moment, hesitation clouding her features and thought that maybe she should leave.

"Wait!" Cosima called, her hand flew out and caught Delphine's arm, "Just give me a minute to think," she said and gently pulled Delphine to sit on the edge of her hospital bed, "that's a fair bit to take in but I want us to be…." She tried think of a better way to phrase it then using terms like 'friends' or 'girlfriends', "to be able to be comfortable with each other again." Delphine waited nervously, looking anywhere but at Cosima while the woman thought.

"Delphine, I want to trust you but you are making it very difficult. You send mixed signals, chasing after me but also going back to Leekie and I'm confused. You had me convinced when you helped me with the patent but then this happens and now I'm not sure anymore. I need to know if I can trust you Delphine, I need you to show me that I and the others can trust you." Cosima's eyes started to water against her will but she held them back.

"How can I prove it to you?" Delphine asked, desperately wanting to reach out and touch the smaller woman.

"I-I don't know," Cosima's voice shook and she spoke in a low almost whispered tone.

"Cosima, I am truthfully sorry for the mistakes I've made," Delphine said and then looked her partner in the eyes which she found were slightly more watery then usual.

"Delphine I... Did you really mean it when you said you've fallen for me or did Leekie tell you to say that?" She had to know though she was confident of the answer just by Delphine's actions.

"I did not lie Cosima, and I am almost certain that Leekie knows how I feel for you too."

Cosima looked at her with questioning, "Is that a bad thing?"

"It means he has something to use against us, and I realise now that he must have known all along because he knew just what to say to get me to tell him what he wanted to know... Cosima I don't know if you are safe, but I will do everything, everything, I can to help you."

"Delphine..." Cosima faltered, she had run out of words, "Hug me?" She asked, opening her arms as her voice cracked slightly.

"Oh, oui" Delphine breathed out, instantly moving into the girls arms and rubbing her neck and back.

The embrace gave them both relief and cleared a lot of the tension, it healed them both a little and provided much comfort.

"Cosima I have more that I must tell you," Delphine said as they gently parted, "I'm more tied to this project then anyone realises," she began, watching Cosima "I'm-" The door opened suddenly, cutting their conversation short as a female doctor came in.

The woman had very short hair with an extremely distinctive style: the top was dyed white and formed in four pointed rows like miniature Mohawks, the bottom was uncoloured, leaving it as its natural dark colour.

Cosima had already nicknamed her Top Deck after the chocolate.

A look of recognition passed between Delphine and the doctor but "Top Deck" ignored it and proceeded like nothing had happened, "Excuse me you'll have to leave now Miss, we are moving Miss Niehaus to a better suited facility."

"Doctor Devlin! What do you think you are doing here?" Delphine asked, standing up with an air of authority that quite impressed Cosima but confused her at the same time, she was not used to this 'authoritative' Delphine.

The doctor's eyes widened as if to say 'what the hell are you doing?!' "I need to speak to you outside-"

"No, I know what you're purpose here is but your orders were wrong, Cosima is not going anywhere except with me" Delphine said, "She's my subject and I will deal with her accordingly, you are dismissed," Delphine addressed her.

The doctor stuttered for a moment, then with a tightened jaw managed to complete a sentence, "Fine." was the growled response and then the woman turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

"What was THAT?!" Cosima asked incredulously.

"Cosima, we need to get out of here and go somewhere safe. There is a lot I need to tell you but not here." Delphine said, turning off machines and pulling wires and tubes off and out of Cosima carefully.

"Okay but uh in case you didn't notice I am in a hospital gown, someone's going to notice that." Cosima said, throwing back the bed sheet and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

Delphine bit her lip and thought for a moment, "I have my bag in the trunk of the car, I'll bring it up and you can wear my clothes," Delphine suggested and Cosima raised her eyebrow at Delphine but agreed.

Cosima made her way to the bathroom and Delphine left her room, making her way back down stairs to her car, opening the trunk she retrieved her bag and then quickly walked back to Cosima's room, keeping a close eye out for anyone she knew.

Cosima was back on her bed by the time that Delphine returned, "My clothes will be a bit big for you, but here," she said, handing Cosima her bag, "see what you can find."

Cosima took the bag and placed it on the bed, searching through Delphine's clothes for something that would fit her and surprisingly, despite their height differences, it looked they were close enough size that Delphine clothes would almost fit her perfectly. Cosima untied the hospital gown and flung it off her, pulling out a shirt from Delphine's bag and pulling it on.

Delphine stood a few steps beside her, watching her and biting her lip as she changed. Her eyes took in Cosima's curved and perfect body, her mind making comparisons with how perfect the woman's mind was as well.

If Cosima noticed Delphine's blatant staring, she held no shame (and why should she with a body like that!) and mustn't have minded for she made no attempt to change discreetly.

Once fully clothed she zipped up Delphine's bag, handing it back to her, "Thanks," She said softly with a small smile that made Delphine's stomach flutter.

Delphine smiled back and took the bag from Cosima, "We need to go now, the others may be in danger too." Delphine said, taking Cosima's hand, "I know a place where-" Delphine stopped as a man blocked the doorway, "Merde…" She whispered.

Cosima's eyes widened as she saw the gun the man was holding pointed at Delphine who stood in front of her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Juno, please do not do this," Delphine said.

"Delphine, I have to, I have orders from the powers that be to bring you in."

"Juno, I saved your life once-"

"Delphine my orders were to kill you on sight but I'll settle for bringing you in alive."

Cosima watched the exchange with much confusion, confusion which doubled as soon as Delphine and Juno switched to conversing in French.

Then he suddenly stepped aside, "We're even now," He said, "But if I ever see you again, I will have to bring you in." He warned. Delphine nodded, taking Cosima's hand again and pulling her quickly along.

"Who was he? What's going on Delphine?" Cosima asked, almost jogging to keep up with Delphine's fast pace.

"He is a cleaner for Leekie, Leekie knows I betrayed him and now he's trying to clean up his mess," Delphine replied, checking over her shoulder several times as they walked through the corridors to the stairwell.

"Cleaner?" Cosima questioned and then her eyes lit up with understanding, "You mean, Leekie sent him to kill you?!"

"Oui," Delphine breathed, moving quickly down the stairs.

Together they raced hand in hand down the six small flights of stairs, appearing in the hospital parking lot underground. Delphine quickly finds her car, unlocking it and the pair hop in.

They drive out of the hospital anxiously, constantly checking for anyone who might be following them, "I'm sorry Cosima, there is much I need to tell you, and the others too."

"Yeah I'd say so!" Cosima said, whirling around to check the cars behind them, "Where are we going?"

"Back to Felix's loft, we need to warn the others and I think we should tell them what is going on."

"Back to Sarahs?" Cosima asked confused because she was well aware that Sarah was no fan of Delphine's.

"Oui, do you have a better idea?" Delphine asked genuinely.

Cosima was silent. She tried to figure out what was going on, she felt that there were still a few holes in Delphine's story but she trusted her again, the display in the hospital was enough to convince her.

They pulled up outside and existed the vehicle, "Delphine…" Cosima called quietly, stopping her with a hand on her arm, "I, uh… thank you," She settled for, standing up on her toes to place a small kiss on her cheek.

"Vous êtes les bienvenus," Delphine breathed out, surprised. Cosima could only guess what the words meant, "You're welcome," She translated and Cosima nodded, she had guessed correctly.

Cosima took a small step away from Delphine, letting go of her arm a little awkwardly and silently gestured for them to go on up to Felix's loft. With a few looks they agreed that Cosima would go first, so Cosima led the way even though Delphine knew where to go. Their steps echoed slightly around the graffitied concrete jungle as they quickly made their way to Felix's door.

Cosima stopped and hesitated, sharing a look with Delphine. Neither knew what to expect about what was going to happen.

Cosima took a deep breath and pulled the door back.

Sarah turned at the sound of the door opening, picking the gun up from the table and pointing it at the door.

"Whoa!" Cosima spoke in surprise when the first thing she saw upon opening the door was another version of herself pointing a gun at her.

"Cosima!" Sarah said in surprise, lowering her gun, "Hey, how are-" Then she saw Delphine and raised the gun again, "Delphine! What are you doing here? Get away from her Cosima," Sarah warned.

"Whoa Sarah no!" Cosima stood directly in front of Delphine, holding onto her arm again, "She's on our side!"

"Bullshit she is! I saw her meet with doctor Leekie!" Sarah cried, "Move out of the way Cos!"

"No! Sarah you need to hear her out!"

"She probably knows who took Kira!"

"No I don't know who took your daughter Sarah, I never told Leekie about her."

"Why should I believe you?" Sarah spat, advancing and pushing Cosima out of the way, "Give me three good reasons why I shouldn't blow your brains out," Her voice was dark and cold as was her gaze as she wrapped her hand around the immunologists throat, cutting off most of her airflow.

"Sarah!" Cosima yelled, now unable to be a physical barrier between the two women she settled for trying to be a voice of reason, "She saved my life!"

"So? Paul tried to protect me too but he was just doin' what Olivier told him to!" Sarah responded, staring at Delphine hard and pressing the cold metal barrel into the taller blonde.

"She saved me from Leekie!" Cosima spoke quickly, she was genuinely afraid that Sarah might shoot Delphine, "A doctor showed up at the hospital that wanted to take me but Delphine wouldn't let her, Sarah there's more to the story than you know-"

"Okay so she and Leekie staged that to gain your trust again." Sarah countered.

"I know Cosima's cure!" Delphine barely rasped out, trying to loosen Sarah's fingers from her throat.

"WHAT?!" Both clones yelled out in surprise.

Sarah stepped back, letting go of Delphine but still held the gun towards her, "What is it?" They both asked.

"Your lungs are collapsing Cosima, they're breaking down, but they can be rebuilt with stem cells." Delphine replied, quickly pulling in air and rubbing her neck.

"How do you know this?" Sarah asked.

Cosima just looked at Sarah like 'really?' "Sarah she's an immunologist-"

"It's more than that Cosima," Delphine cut in, "But I think it will be easier if I start from the beginning ."

"Okay, so start explainin'"Sarah said.

"Will you let me explain everything before you shoot me?" Delphine asked, quite nervous and sick of having guns pointed at her.

Cosima forcefully took the gun from Sarah, placing it on the table and taking a seat on Felix couch.

"Cos! Ugh, fine," Sarah gave in, plonking down on the other couch, "But close the door!" Sarah instructed.

_Where to begin? _Delphine thought as she closed the door and moved to sit near Cosima.

"Why'd you meet with Leekie? What did you tell him about us?" Sarah asked.

"Originally I lied to Leekie, I told him that Cosima was on holiday here and that I wanted to surprise her. He had an apartment set up for me to stay at and I was supposed to meet him there at 11 the night Cosima passed out. When I wasn't there he got suspicious of me so when you forced me to leave Sarah I had to go to him, I didn't have any other choice. I went to him and he asked me what happened with Cosima, if you'd all met up, what I'd told Cosima, where I had been… I started to tell him the truth. I told him that Cosima and I fought before she came here, but I didn't tell him that you had all met up he asked me… he asked me a lot of questions but all I told him was that Cosima knew who I was and that we broke the code on the genome."

"This is not convincing me that you are on our side, if you and Leekie are so tight why did you come running out of the hotel?"

"How did you know-" Delphine started to ask but before she had even finished her sentence she had figured it out, "You followed me?"

"Yes, I don't trust you, I was testing you to see where you went and as expected you went running back to Leekie," Sarah said harshly.

Delphine closed her eyes for a moment, feeling incredibly stupid then she flicked her hair and tried to continue but this time Cosima spoke, "Wait, Sarah, if Delphine and Leekie were on good terms and she didn't know that you were following her, then… "Cosima looked over at Delphine, "Why did you run?"

"You remember at the hospital when I said that Leekie was very angry to find out that I had helped you break the code?" Cosima nodded, "He tried to kill me bec-"

"WHAT? Why didn't you tell me? Are you-are you okay? Are-"

"I am fine, Cosima, I didn't tell you because I did not want you worry."

"Why would Leekie kill you for something you'd already told Cosima?"

"Because as I said to Cosima, I am much more tied to this project then anyone knows, more than even Leekie knows." Delphine said.

"Explain." Sarah ordered.

Delphine took a deep breath, she had a lot she'd need to say with that breath, "You both already know I'm an immunologist and that I worked for Dyad, but I'm more than that, I was tasked as the leader of the team of scientist investigating the cure for the degenerating of organs in human clones. Our latest research points towards stem cells, we were testing it on some of the other clones-"

"Others?! How many of us are there?" Sarah asked

"Do you know how many?" Cosima asked at almost the same time.

"I do not know how many in total, but there are 17 that are sick, from files I've seen I would estimate that there might be 50 or possibly even a hundred?" Delphine said. Sarah and Cosima looked shell shocked, "They are spread all over the world, I only get told about the one's who are ill-"

"Holy shite…" Sarah seemed to remember how to speak.

"So, about the cure, stem cells, it is definite? Will it work?" Cosima asked.

"No. At least, it wasn't when I last spoke to my team."

Cosima had to remind herself that Delphine already had her degree.

"But could it?" Cosima sounded half excited and half nervous.

"Possibly, I would need to talk to my team. But there's more than that-"

"Oh Jeez!" Sarah interrupted, "How deeply involved with this are you?!"

Delphine raised an eyebrow, "Very."

"On a scale from clone to Leekie where are you in the hierarchy of this conspiracy?" Sarah asked.

"Higher than Leekie. But that is not a useful scale, the workings of the project is complicated, and Leekie is not that high in the big picture, he just oversees-"

"Data collection, I know." Sarah finished, "But if you're higher than him, how were stuck below him as a monitor? No pun intended."

"Because it was vital that Leekie does not know just how important I am to the project. I was told not to let anyone know of my position and involvement in the project. Technically I should never have been a monitor-"

"So why were you?"

"It was a privilege, to get to see what I was working for. I didn't get to see the clones, only there DNA, but then I was offered to monitor one? It was a brilliant opportunity and extremely fascinating from a scientific point of view and from a, uh, human point of view as well!"

"I thought they threatened people to monitor us clones?" Sarah asked.

Delphine shrugged, "Maybe they have for others, but they don't need to threaten me."

"I thought the monitors were supposed to be in the dark on the whole clone thing? So as not to sway the results or something like that?"

"Sway the results?" Delphine repeated with confusion, "What results?"

"The results from what ever you lot are trying to learn from us!" Sarah replied.

"We just observe, we don't test you-" Delphine stopped, rethinking her words, "Well you probably already know that we do medically test you to see how you are going, but that is all. You are all still human."

Sarah was silent so Cosima spoke up, "What else is there? What about that doctor at the hospital?"

"Oh, Doctor Jordan Devlin, she's part of the team of scientists working for me to try and find a cure for the organ degeneration, Leekie must have had someone send her in to bring you to the Centre to examine and study you." Delphine explained, "You see, there are flaws in human cloning, the degeneration is one of them, so they're working to fix up those mistakes and genetically enhance the DNA as well."

"Great…" Sarah said, "So maybe Kira is a lizard after all," Sarah mumbled getting up, "I need a drink."

She had decided that with all that Delphine was divulging, she was genuinely on their side.

"Wait," Cosima said, addressing Delphine but Sarah stopped as well, "Delphine are you saying that they are trying to create a refined genetically superior batch of clones?"

"Yes."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Updates may be difficult over the next four weeks as I will not be at home but it shouldn't be too much of a problem :)  
Really wasn't sure how to proceed with this but hopefully I've done justice to my story and the Orphan Black characters.

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"Holy shite…"

"Holy watershed.…" Both clones spoke at the same time.

"There are MORE of us?!" Sarah asked incredulously, falling back into her seat.

Delphine nodded, "Oui, about six years ago they created another set of clones that were genetically enhanced and supposed to be resistant against the cell break downs that you're experiencing Cosima."  
"So you're saying that there are six-year-old version of me running around out there?" Sarah asked.

Delphine nodded, "Yes, and Cosima, if we can get stem cells from the newer clones then we can try to treat you."

"Okay, how do we get them?" Cosima asked.

"We have to break into the Centre."

"What's that?" Both clones asked.

"It's the facility where you were all created before being implanted into your surrogate mothers, it's incredibly well hidden, you won't any documentation on it or find it marked on any map, it does not even have a proper name, just The Centre. It's the main base of operation." Delphine explained.

"Okay, so how do we break in?" Sarah asked.

"Rachel Duncan." Delphine said.

Sarah didn't flinch, "What about her?" Sarah asked.

"We can use her, you know she is a clone too? Raised by Neolution?"

"Yeah yeah, we know, she wanted me to sign that contract, how can she help us?"

"You see Leekie will have told the PTB that I've betrayed them so I'll no longer have access to the Centre. But Rachel does since she was practically raised there, if one of you pretends to be her then you can reactivate my passcodes and I'll go in and get the research."

"How do we know that you're not just setting us up to be kidnapped?" Sarah asked.

"Jesus Sarah!" Cosima practically exploded, "What's it's gonna take for you to just believe us! Delphine betrayed Leekie, she stopped them from taking me, she nearly got shot twice by them, she helped me break the code on our genome to discover the patent which we told you about to protect your daughter from Leekie and the neolutionists! Then for all that she's done you nearly shoot her and choke her and you still refuse to believe her! And on top of that she's still sitting here helping us to figure out how to save my life, even though it means risking hers! Why can't you just be grateful for what we've done to help you and for what Delphine is doing to help me!?" Cosima ended up yelling, standing above a bewildered Sarah.

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, catching sight of the tears brimming Cosima's black lined lids and closing her mouth again. She repeated this action a few times, seeing just how torn up Cosima was about the situation, then stood up to be level with Cosima so she could speak to her without Delphine hearing, "Because I saw how broken you were when you showed up at my door because of what she had done to you. You could barely speak because you didn't want to cry in front of us, I could hear it in your voice Cosima just how emotionally attached you are to Delphine. You can't think objectively about this so I'm doing it for you, to protect you from further harm, Cosima."

"Then do me a favour Sarah and just trust me."

They were both silent as they stared at each other, silently communicating with facial expressions and intense eye contact.

"Okay," Sarah finally said, "But-"

"And Delphine."

Sarah sighed and then breathed deeply, "Okay," She relented, "Fine, I'll trust you... and Delphine."

"Thank you," Cosima whispered and then sat back down next to Delphine, taking one of her hands in both of hers. Delphine looked at Cosima questioningly but Cosima just smiled at her slightly.

"Okay so if we're gonna do this then lets work this out properly, sort out the fine details," Sarah said, taking the opportunity to grab herself a beer from Felix's 'fridge'.

"What if we staged a meet with Rachel?" Cosima offered.

"And then what? Do we Kill her? Knock her out? Would she have the passcodes or cards or whatever on her?" Sarah asked the last question to Delphine.

"Not likely."

"I suggest that we knock her out, tie her up and leave her somewhere, find her…What do we need to get into the Centre?" Sarah asked.

"She'll have a white key card with "The Centre" engraved on it." Delphine supplied, "It will have her user number and her password will be her birth date."

"Riiiight, how hard can that be?...Hang on, can't you just use Rachel's key to get the things you need?" Sarah asked.

"Non, Rachel shouldn't have access to that information." Delphine replied.

"But even with Rachel's access codes how are we supposed to reactivate you Delphine?" Cosima asked.  
The room fell into silence.

"Alright, new plan ," Cosima said after a few minutes, "Do we know that you are definitely out of the Centre's system?" Cosima asked.

"Well I suppose no, you'd have to ask Leekie."

"How about we just try your key before we go making up anymore crazy plans, yeah?" Sarah jumped in. Cosima shrugged in response and they both looked at Delphine.

"Suppose if we're quick we might beat them?" Cosima asked.

"Then let's go then!" Sarah said, standing up and placing her beer on the coffee table, "Like right now!"

Cosima and Delphine looked at each other quickly with communicative glances that seemed to say 'why not?' and then stood up, following Sarah out of the loft and down to Delphine's car. Cosima got in without a word then Sarah stopped Delphine, "This is your one chance to prove to me that you are on our side, If you screw this up I will make sure that you never see Cosima again and Cosima wont be able to stop me. I mean it Delphine."  
Delphine nodded without a word, she knew the stakes. She knew that Cosima's life depended on her success today, she knew that if she could pull this off she could gain Sarahs' trust which would certainly alleviate a lot of the awkward tension, she knew that she had to prove her worth to Cosima and Sarah and she knew that this was her one chance to make everything right.

Their trip would be a long one, filled with an uncomfortable silence and anxiety over all the things that could happen; Delphine could get caught, she could be killed, they might torture her for information on the clones. Or it all might go smoothly and they might get the research, information and genetic material that they need to save Cosima. Almost every possible scenario ran through their minds, thoughts of betrayal, failure, success and the life or death stakes were prominent within the clones' thoughts but in Delphines' mind she went over just how exactly she was going to pull this off. But none of the scenarios would match up to the reality that awaited them.

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Thanks for all your reviews guys! I love them! :D


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Warning for language.

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It was dark when Delphine slowed the car to a stop in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. The clones looked at Delphine expectantly after surveying the barren land around them and half-expecting tumbleweed to roll by, there really wasn't anything worth noting about the empty landscape except for fact that is _was _so empty.

"Over that hill there is a cave entrance that leads to the Centre, it's a giant multileveled underground facility that goes on for miles...Also I will not have phone reception while I am inside."

How Delphine knew that the Centre was under _that _hill was a mystery to the clones, there did not seem to be anything to identify this hill from any other.

"And if something goes wrong?" Cosima asked softly, not wanting to think any more on the possibilities of what _could _happen.

"If I am not back in two hours then you must assume the worst has happened and leave, there is no point you risking yourself," Delphine spoke to Cosima, ignoring Sarah watching behind them.

Cosima nodded and then reached over the centre console and hugged Delphine tightly, whispering into her ear, "Please be safe."

"I will be back in a short time ma chérie," Delphine replied.

Cosima pulled back and Delphine could see that she was nervous, but Cosima was not nearly as anxious as Delphine was. Cosima need only sit and the car and wait, Delphine had to sneak around the lions den and do all the work.

Sarah was not surprised when Cosima kissed Delphine but Delphine was, she tried to just enjoy the brief moment and not think that this might be the last time she would ever get to touch the beautiful woman. Her lips tingled with the silent, unspoken and secret promise of love. But alas the moment had to end and Delphine handed the car keys to Sarah because she knew that Sarah would not hesitate to leave, but Cosima would. Then without another word, she got out of the car, Sarah locking it once she existed, and started walking through the dark to the hill.

Cosima looked at the clock, an act she would be doomed to repeat a hundred if not a thousand times over the next few hours.

"So, you and Delphine?" Sarah asked to start conversation.

"Not like you didn't already know." Cosima's tone was neutral.

"I had my suspicions. Especially after that game of truth or dare."

"I know you don't approve of my actions, but it's hardly any different from what you did with Paul."

Sarah could not dispute that, "But I did warn you."

"I was supportive of your actions with Paul, but yet you refuse to trust Delphine, it's because Delphine is a woman isn't it?" Cosima asked, not taking her eyes off the woman in questions' silhouette against the night sky.

"No, I have nothing against that Cosima, you like the ladies? That's fine, I don't care who you sleep with."

"I like _everyone_," Cosima corrected, "And you certainly seem to care about my sleeping with Delphine."

"Yes because we know she is a traitor, not because she is a woman. I don't care if you're gay or bi Cos that kind of thing doesn't bother me but sleeping with the enemy does bother me." Sarah replied, noting that Cosima did not try to deny having slept with Delphine but rather admitted it, freely.

"Again, you slept with Paul."

"Yeah but he was on our side Cosima."

"Did you not listen to a word we said today? Delphine is on our side! You said you'd trust us."

"I _am _trusting you Cos, I'm here aren't I?"

"Yet you still won't trust Delphine. What's it's gonna take for you to just believe her?" Cosima asked turning around to glare at her genetic identical.

"This might convince me if everything goes smoothly."

"Might? So risking her life to get a cure for me isn't enough? What, does she have to _die _for one of us before you'll believe her?"

Sarah paused, thinking about just _why _Delphine had to do so much to prove to her that she could be trusted, when enough was enough? "If this works Cosima, if she comes back with a cure for you and no shit occurs then I'll trust her." Sarah settled but in truth, she was already starting to believe Delphine from just her having brought them here, but she was still cautious.

Satisfied with the answer, Cosima turned back around, watching Delphine as she crested the hill and glanced back in the direction of where the car was hidden in the dark, and then she turned away and walked down the hill and out of sight. Cosima's nerves increased once Delphine was out of sight, at least before she could see if shit was going to down, but now she was in the dark both physically and metaphorically.

Cosima looked at the clock again; it had only been a few minutes.

Delphine left the clones in her car with a clear idea of what she was going to do, it was as basic as it gets: walk in, grab the info, walk out. Oh, and hope that her key still worked and no one tried to kill her. No pressure.

The air was surprisingly chilly and goosebumps rose over her skin as she walked. She dreaded not knowing what might be ahead, the future literally sat on Delphine's shoulders and she could feel the weight of it pressing down on her. As she walked she wondered what Cosima and Sarah would talk about or do to pass the time, she wondered if they would fight about her again or if they'd talk about trivial things or if they'd sit in silence. She assumed that they would use the time to once again discuss her while she wasn't there. Delphine knew that Sarah didn't like her and she didn't know why but she wanted the clone to trust her, maybe it was because she was Cosima with a criminal record and different accent, or maybe she just wanted acceptance into the little group and that's why she felt the need to do something to help Sarah as well as Cosima.

Delphine crested the hill and she looked back into the dark for Cosima but the darkness prevented her from seeing even a glimpse or a hint of the woman she desired, so she continued on down the hill.

_What if it's a trap?_ She suddenly thought. _No, they cannot possibly know I am here. _

Walking down the hill she came to a stop at the cave entrance, the giant darkness standing in front of her suddenly seemed very metaphorical of her future. Taking a deep breath she embraced her fate and stepped into the darkness, walking blindly forward into the unknown with eyes wide open, waiting for the rod cells in her eyes to warm up so she could find the rock door that was the entrance to the Centre.

It did not take long for her eyes to adjust to the darker absence of light since it was dark outside as well. Delphine located the three stacked rocks that marked where the door was and she turned to her left, kneeling down to locate the small stone by the rock stack and pushing the little stone that was secretly a button to open the door; she heard a click and rose once more. She pressed her hands against the bumpy rock till she found the hole in it then she pulled her key card out of her bag and held it up to the hole, a wide red beam shot out of it and scanned the card then a beep was heard and suddenly the rock shifted backwards, allowing Delphine entrance.

She sighed in relief; she was still in the system, which made her task infinitely easier.

Stepping inside she put her pass back in her pocket and entered into the metal passageway, closing the door behind her and turning around to see what awaited her. The area was empty.

The main desk was unattended and a minimal number of lights were on. Delphine looked around and into the nearby offices but it appeared that the place was deserted. She walked out into the middle of the reception floor and looked carefully around her; everything seemed to be in order except for the lack of personnel that made her uneasy.

"Delphine?"

Delphine jumped, her heart pounding hard and fast as she spun around to face the voice, "Doctor Devlin, what a surprise."

"Yes, this is very much a surprise…" The woman said, advancing towards Delphine, looking her up and down suspiciously, "What are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms, "Last I saw of you, you were protecting one of the subjects and helping them."

"Well I had to gain their trust somehow now didn't I?" Delphine replied, standing tall and slightly higher than the other doctor.

"What are you saying? That you didn't betray the Centre?"

"How dare you underestimate me! I had to make it look legitimate didn't I? Make them think that I was on their side or how else would I get them to come here willingly?" Delphine asked in a no nonsense, authoritative tone.

"Them? You mean you have more than 324B21?"

"Oui."

"What's the other one?"

Delphine mentally cringed at the clones being called 'what' rather than 'who', they were still human after all and they deserved to be treated as such, "354C26."

The doctor lowered her arms to her sides with a 'hm', "334A25 failed to bring her in…" The shorter woman seemed to think this over for a while, "It seems I was mistaken, my apologies doctor for not trusting you." She said, stepping back to let Delphine pass.

Delphine walked passed her wordlessly but then her associate followed her, falling into step with her as she continued her conversation, "So where are they? Have they been brought in already?"

"Doctor Devlin that is not of your concern just yet but if you must know, no they have not been brought in yet. They are waiting for me in a car just outside." Delphine said, waving her card against a sensor to open a door that gave her entrance to the long corridor of offices.

* * *

So, have I confused you about Delphine's loyalties yet?  
Please let me know what you think of this chapter because I am quite proud of it and I would like to know your thoughts on my story.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh I see!" Jordan Devlin replied, following Delphine's every movement, "Do you need a team to help you get them in here?" She asked, coming to a stop behind Delphine when she halted in front of a door that bore her name.

"Non, that will not be necessary, they will come in on their own if I am with them but if you go and send a team after them they will resist." Delphine said, tossing her backpack onto a chair off to the side of the room and sitting down at her desk.

Devlin entered the room after a moment and sat in the chair opposite Delphine, "Why would they do that?"

Delphine was getting sick of the interrogation but decided that being cordial was probably best, "They think I'm helping them." Delphine replied.

"Are you?"

Delphine scoffed, "You ask too many questions," Delphine said, picking up various manila folders that were in a stack off to the side of her pristine desk and sorting them into three organised piles, "And of course not, but it's much easier to get them in here if they think I am helping them then if we try to force them. That was were 334A25 failed. She tried to force the clones to do what she wanted but I've manipulated them so that is in their best interests to return to us." Delphine said, opening and closing a few draws in her desk and pulling out more folders.

"Why not bring them straight in?"

"Stop questioning me Delvin!" Delphine snapped, focusing a hard gaze onto the woman, "Go prep the exam room if you want to do something useful instead of questioning my loyalty and authority."

Devlin got up, "Fine." She replied, turning sharply and leaving.

Delphine sighed again in relief, watching the woman leave and once she did she jumped out of her chair, taking the middle pile of folders and quickly shoving them into her bag, then racing over to the cabinet in the corner she pulled out the second draw, quickly flicking through the black folders until she found the one she was looking for then she slammed it shut again. She added the folder to her bag, half zipping it and throwing it over her shoulder.

Delphine peered carefully out of her office to check that the other doctor was gone and upon seeing the corridor empty she exited her office, locking it behind her and then walking quickly down the hallway.

But she didn't far before a name on a door caught her attention and she stopped, 'Dr. Aldous Leekie' she debated with herself about going in. There could be information in there or there could be Leekie.

Taking a chance Delphine tried the door knob to see if the door was unlocked; it was.

Taking another moment to debate with herself she again went through the possible pro's and con's to opening the door but decided that if there was even a chance of gaining valuable information she would take it.

Opening the door slowly Delphine peered into the room and upon seeing it dark and empty, she entered completely, slipping in and shutting the door behind her. The immunologist went over to the cabinet and pulled the draw open, thankful that the filing cabinet was placed near the window that was letting in the white artificial light and allowing her to read the file names. Delphine again flicked quickly through the folders, stopping suddenly though when she recognised a name that should not be there; Kira Manning.

Delphine pulled the file out quickly, setting it atop the others she quickly flicked through the pages of medical records. Medical records that the Centre should not have had. The records were in chronological order from _birth_ and included x-rays and ultrasounds with dates from barely a week ago.

Checking the time she shoved the folder into her bag; she was already running out of time, Sarah and Cosima could look over the folder later. Delphine flicked through the folders once more but slammed the drawer shut when she didn't find anything worth taking.

Delphine snooped around Leekies' desk for any other valuable information but there were no folders on or in his desk so she decided to leave.

The corridor was still empty so she quickly made her way to the end of it and hopped into the elevator at the end of it. Delphine knew exactly where she had to go and she didn't delay going about her business, she went down to sub level 17 and existed the lift to a another pristine white floor.

She walked quickly and quietly through the corridors, constantly checking and listening out for anyone else who might be around but again the floor was eerily silent.

Delphine entered into one of the many labs, there was a multitude of equipment ranging from the simple test tube and beaker to the newest microscopes and centrifuges and some of the machine she didn't even recognise.

But Delphine ignored the expanse of technology and went straight to the incubator and fridge, pulling out samples and checking labels before deciding if they were relevant to Cosima and if they were she added them to her bag or else putting them back. Then once she was confident she had everything she needed, Delphine turned off all the equipment in the lab so that the samples would be invalid and unusable.

Delphine then left the lab and moved further along the corridor when she suddenly heard two voices talking.

"Merde…" Delphine swore under her breath, looking around for a place to hide she spotted a door close by and prayed that it was unlocked and the room beyond it empty. She ran to it and pulled on the door handle door, relieved when it lowered with the force Delphine applied to it, she scuttled into the room and shut the door behind her quickly.

"Hello?" A voice asked.

Delphine jumped for the second time that night and spun around to face the voice, worried that she may have avoided one devil only to end up in a different hell. But Delphine had nothing to fear of the young child that stood up from a bed.

"Bonjour," Delphine said, looking the blonde haired, green eyed girl over. She wore faded slightly torn jeans and a pink t-shirt with Tinkerbell on the front of it, her almost pure white hair fell past her shoulders and was positioned perfectly for the young girl to hide behind. She was quite skinny from what she could see, almost unhealthly so.

"Who are you?" They both asked at the same time.

Delphine smiled and stepped close to the girl and crouched down to be a similar height to the girl, "My name is Delphine, what is yours?"

"463E35," The girl said as she played with the fraying hem of her shirt.

Delphine was confused for a moment but the figurative light bulb flashed in her mind, "Oh! You're one of the new- do you know who you are?" Delphine asked, refusing to ask if she knew 'what' she was because to Delphine the little girl _was_ human.

"Yes, I am one of seven clones that were made here." The girl replied, "I am 463E35, the fifth clone."

'Made', not born, the word stuck out in Delphine's mind, "But what is your name child?"

"Why do you want to know? You don't give us or ask us our names?"

This little girl was breaking Delphine's heart, she thought that she was one of them! Well, when she thought about it she was one of _them_.

"I'm not one of them dear," Delphine said, reaching out to touch the girls shoulders but she shied away, "I won't you, I promise."

"That's what you said last time," The girl whimpered.

Delphine stared at the little girl in wonder, _what have they done to you_? She thought.

"Do you have a name at all?" She asked.

"Yes, we named ourselves."

"What name were you given?" Delphine asked.

"Elissa."

"That's a lovely name-"

"You really are not one of them are you?" She asked, studying Delphine.

"No, I am not I used to be though. Elissa, do you know where the other girls are?" Delphine was shocked to find that they had kept the girls in the facility instead of letting them live normal lives like they had with the other set of clones.

Elissa shook her head, "No, they try to keep us apart but sometimes they let us see each other and they watch us to make sure we behave and sometimes we sneak out and we meet in the tunnels… Can you help me escape?"

_Tunnels?_

Delphine thought briefly on how she was going to smuggle the girl out, and if it were even possible. She took another look at Elissa, her thin form, her pale skin, the almost sickly look she had about her and Delphine decided that she could not leave the child in the care of these people.

"Oui," Delphine spoke without thinking and upon the girls look of confusion corrected herself, "Yes, we can escape together. How does that sound? Okay?"  
Delphine asked, extending her hand to the girl.

She shyly took it, a larger smile hidden behind her long hair but then suddenly her eyes shut abruptly and she fell.

"Oh no," Delphine whispered, catching the girl before her head hit the floor. She checked Elissa's breathing- regular, she checked her pulse- also fine, Delphine decided that the girl would be okay until she either woke up or she could get her help, so she scooped the girl up into her arms. She was surprisingly light so it was with little effort that she shifted the girls' weight to her hip and made sure that Elissa's head rest against her shoulder so that she woulc still breathe.

Delphine stood up, lifting the girl with her she listened at the door or any sign of the two people that she heard earlier.

Silence.

Checking her watch Delphine found that she had just under an hour left.

Delphine opened the door, checking the corridor quickly for anyone but upon finding it clear, she exited and continued down the corridor.

_Where are the other children_? Delphine asked herself, looking at all the other doors around her. _Are they here? Or are they kept on separate floors? I don't have time to check every floor._

Delphine knew that she could not fit seven children in her car along with Sarah and Cosima, but she felt she had to try to save them all.

Delphine stood still in the middle of the hallway while she tried to decide what to do. _If I found all the clones, how would I get them out and somewhere safe?_

Delphine decided to take the risk and open every door on the floor to try and find the other children. She started with the one closest to her on her right, opening it but it was another lab, she went to the one on her left, an office. Moving down the corridor she found a room identical to the one she found Elissa in but there wasn't anyone in it. Delphine checked almost the entire floor before she stopped to shift the unconscious girl to her other side. Looking around herself Delphine ignored the door that was now on her left because she knew that it was an examination room and turned at the end of the corridor.

Her logical brain had kicked in, even if she found the children there was no way that she could save them all, just saving the one girl in arms was going to be hard enough, if anyone saw her there would be no way to explain the situation and she wouldn't be able to bluff her way out of it.

Delphine realised that she had to give up and time was quickly slipping away from her, her endeavours to find the children had cost her twenty minutes already. She sighed heavily, accepting that if she could at least change this little girls life, then that would be enough for her.

"Hey!" A voice called and Delphine turned around, two male armed guards were at the other end of the corridor, "She got one of the kids!" One of them yelled.

"Merde!" Delphine exclaimed, turning and holding tight to the little girl she ran down the corridor.

"Stop! Put the kid down!"

Delphine turned a corner and decided that hiding might be better than running, she opened the first door she found and entered the room, finding herself in another of the examination rooms. There were three beds with white coverings laid in a neat row with a machine in between each of them to separate them.

One of the beds was occupied by another small girl but she didn't look like one of the clones.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, not moving from her reclined position on the bed.

"I'm here to help," Delphine replied, laying Elissa on the first available bed and placing sensors on her head and under her shirt and taping an IV line to her arm to make it look like she was supposed to be there, "Just pretend that I am not here and everything will be fine okay?" Delphine said, looking around wildly for somewhere to hide as she heard the voices and steps of the men get closer with each second.

"Why?"

"Look, if you don't tell them I'm here I'll do anything you want." Delphine said absently, looking around the room wildly for somewhere to hide.

"Okay," The girl replied, turning her head away from Delphine and closing her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Delphine spotted a door at the far side of the room and she ran to it, pulling it open she found it was a supply closet and she quickly went in, shutint the door behind her.

Her heart was pounding out of her chest and her palms were sweaty from anxiety, she listened closely to the sounds:  
"She must be in one of the rooms!" One voice spoke.

"You check the left side of the hall I'll check the right!" Said the other.

The door to the exam room opened and Delphine covered her mouth, not even daring to breathe in case he heard her.

"Did anyone come in here?" The man asked.

"No," replied the little girl much to Delphine's relief.

The door closed again and Delphine relaxed a little, breathing quickly and wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans a few times before opening the door carefully and peering out.

"He's gone." The girl spoke.

Delphine left the safety of the supply closet and went over to the little girl, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The girl replied, "I know what I want you to for me."

"What's that child?"

"Help me find my mum?" She asked, carefully pulling the IV out of her arm.

"Who is you mother child?"

"Her name is Sarah, Sarah Manning. I'm-"

"Kira." Delphine finished.


	9. Chapter 9

"How did you know?" Kira asked, sitting up.

"I know your mother, she's here. I'll take you to her but we must hurry," Delphine said, turning away from Kira and going back to Elissa.

"She's here?!" Kira repeated excitedly. "Did she come to get me?"

"No, we did not know you were here Kira, but I promise I will get you back to her. She's been looking for you, you know?"

"I know," Kira said, she knew what her mother was like. Delphine moved the wires off Elissa, "Is Elissa okay?" Kira asked, coming to stand next to the woman by the bed.

"You know this girl?" Delphine asked, stopping briefly to look at Kira who nodded.

"She blacks out and faints a lot. Is she okay?"

"I don't know Kira," Delphine answered honestly, picking the girl up and then taking Kira's hand as well, "Time to go."

Delphine listened for any more sounds of the guards but all that she heard was the lights buzzing overhead and the ventilation system.

Delphine let go of Kira's hand to open the door and she peeked out, seeing another empty corridor she took Kira's hand again and speed walked down the hallway, leaving the door open and walking as fast as she could without running towards where she knew the elevator was.

Kira had to jog to keep up with Delphine as it was but she didn't mind.

"There they are!" Delphine heard as she passed an adjacent corridor.

Delphine cursed under her breath, "Run Kira!" Kira ran ahead of her and Delphine stuck close behind at more of a jog, wanting to keep the child in front of her so she could make sure nothing happened to her, "Turn right!" She directed, checking behind them to see how far behind the men were.

Kira turned right, pulling further ahead with each step she took- she was surprisingly fast for her age and size.

"Stop!" One of the guards called, "Let the kids go!"

Delphine couldn't figure out why the guards where even there, they were not normally here.

_Perhaps Leekie knows._..

"Go to the lift!" Delphine instructed but Kira was already there, repeatedly pressing the button to call the elevator.

"Halt!" Called the guard as he came charging after them with his gun in hand.

Delphine stepped in front of Kira, turning away from the guard to try and shield both Kira and Elissa from any bullets that may or may not come flying through the air towards them.

The lift pinged to signal its arrival and the door opened, Delphine pushed Kira into the lift and off to the side so she would be out of sight.

The guards opened fired on Delphine, three consecutive loud bangs as the men charged towards them, trying to get to the lift before the doors closed.

Elissa screamed, holding far too tightly to Delphine who stabbed at the elevator buttons and held the girl protectively to her, she wasn't aware the girl had woken up until then. Kira covered her ears, crouched off to the side of the small space.

The guards were getting closer and closer with each second, Delphine stood off to the side, pressing her back against the wall on the opposite side of the lift to Kira, praying for the doors to close.

More shots were fired and Elissa continued to scream while all Delphine could do was watch the holes in the wall gather.

After what felt like an eternity the lift dinged again and the doors closed, sealing them in and saving them just before the men got them.

Delphine sighed and slid down the wall of the elevator, ignoring the pain in her body as she did so and flicking a small switch on her way down that stopped the lift instantly, dimming all the lights. Delphine sat on the floor, cradling the crying girl in her arms, "Are you okay?" She asked, "Kira?" Kira nodded, taking her fingers out of her ears, "Elissa?" The girl didn't respond, she just clung to Delphine with a vice like grip and cried into her neck, "Are you hurt?" She asked and the girl shook her head.

Delphine rubbed her back and the girl calmed herself, she checked her watch for the time; she had just under half an hour left. Delphine was rapidly running out of time.

She stood up and her back twinged, _I need to exercise more…_ She thought to herself as she pulled upright, ignoring the pain in her back and sides. Delphine flicked the switch and pressed the button to send them back up to the ground floor. She took Kira's hand again and prepared herself for the nightmare to be over.

Kira's eyes widened as she looked up at her saviour, "Delphine?" She spoke softly.

"Yes?" Delphine asked, looking down at the girl.

"Your-" The elevator stopped and pinged effectively cutting Kira off and preventing Delphine from hearing what she said.

Delphine looked up, the doors parted and revealed to Delphine the armed team of men and women surrounding their only exit, "Oh merde…" Delphine mumbled as she spotted Leekie standing at the back of the group with a wolfish grin.

"Delphine," Leekie spoke but it was closer to a smug sigh, "Delphine, Delphine, Delphine… Did you really think you could get away with this?" Delphine knew then that they had set this whole thing up, they knew from the beginning somehow that she would return to the Center, but she couldn't figure out why they had let her get so far if they wanted to take her in or kill her, "Take them." Leekie waved dismissively, pulling Doctor Devlin closer to him as the elevator pinged.

Delphine puled Kira closer to her, making her and Elissa turn away before she flipped Leekie the bird and said a few choice French words as the doors closed again before the armed team could rise and apprehend them, "Au revoir!" She taunted, letting go of the two girls once the doors closed.

Delphine pushed a button on the elevator and then knelt down to be level with the children, "Girls, there is a car outside waiting for us and when we get outside I need you two to run straight to it okay?" They both nodded.

"Is my Mum waiting for us?" Kira asked and Delphine nodded, standing up again when the lift pinged once more, she took their hands and waited anxiously as the doors parted, half expecting another platoon of armed soldiers to come charging at them but the hallway was empty.

Delphine marched out of the lift, her mind working over time to try and figure a way out of the facility. She knew had to think of something quick or else Leekie and his team of gun wielders would catch up to them.

The trio walked quickly through the corridors till Delphine spotted the maintenance lift, she brought the children over to it, pushing them in and pressing the button to send them back up to the ground floor.

"Listen carefully girls," She spoke, "When you get up there I want you to leave the facility, go out of the cave and go up the hill then, keep running straight. Kira, your mother will find you."

"But Delphine what about you, you're hurt!" Kira spoke, determined to be heard this time.

"You must go Kira." Delphine said with a weak smile, pressing the button for the door to close and pulling away.

As the maintenance lift closed she heard the main elevator ping open and a stampede of feet after it. Delphine moved away from the lift, into one of the corridors and hid in the first office she found. Her back and sides were aching and she clutched at them painfully, biting her lip to keep herself from making a sound as she ducked down behind a desk and sat on the carpeted floor, being mindful of the specimens in her backpack and not leaning against the desk.

Delphine breathed heavily, uncurling her arms from her body to inspect the damage. Her hands and arms were covered with smearings and spatterings of dark splotches which even in the very dark room could not be mistaken. Blood. Delphine sighed, she had been aware of pain in her body but now that she had nothing else to focus on, the pain in her torso became evident and invaded the forefront of her mind.

She lifted her shirt, cringing as the fabric pulled at the wound in her side and caused a burning sensation to erupt. She paused, her eyes screwed shut tight against the intense burning throb, then she reopened them with a determination to diagnose how bad it really was so again she gently pulled her shirt up, biting her lip. A few unwanted tears cascaded down her cheeks but she breathed out quickly once the shirt was up. Delphine looked down at herself but it was too dark to see anything other than the blood that was covering her skin and a vague outline of the wound, she cursed quietly and listened to the commands and footsteps in the corridor, praying that by some miracle they wouldn't find her.

Delphine jumped when she heard the door of the office open and she momentarily stopped breathing, her heart was beating so fast and she wished it would slow down. Delphine clamped her hand over her mouth again, waiting anxiously to see what her fate would be. Adrenalin surged through her body and blood left, Delphine listened acutely to the footsteps on the floor as their owner surveyed the room and she dared not move.


	10. Chapter 10

Sarah was now seated in the front seat of the car, tapping her fingers impatiently against the steering wheel.

Cosima sat fidgeting in her seat, her eyes flicking towards the clock every few seconds.

"She's not coming Cos," Sarah sighed.

"Just wait, give her a chance."

"I have given her a chance Cosima and she told you that if she wasn't back in two hours to leave."

"No Delphine said if she wasn't back in two hours then we were to assume the worst, we have to help her Sarah!"

"Alright and how do you propose we help her?" Sarah snapped, "We don't know how to get in, we don't know where she is, we don't even know if she is trouble or if she's just selling us up the river!"

"Sarah you know perfectly well that if Delphine had sold us out we wouldn't be sitting in a car waiting for something to happen, we'd be strapped down to gurneys while a bunch of docs ran around and poked needles into us."

"Cosima, she said wait two hours and leave, it's been two hours and two minutes, we're leaving," Sarah said, putting the key in the ignition.

"No." Cosima said defiantly, opening her door and getting out of the car.

"Cosima!" Sarah yelled, and got out of the car too, "What the hell are ya doing? Get in the car!"

"We're not leaving without Delphine!"

"Yes we are, we gotta go! She told us to go!" Sarah argued but Cosima didn't respond, she just crossed her arm in defiance and stared out at the hill Delphine had disappeared over two hours before, "Fine then I'm leaving without you, I've got a daughter to find." Sarah said, getting in the car.

Cosima called her bluff, remaining motionless, she didn't know what she would do if Sarah did leave and Delphine did not return.

Sarah revved the engine as a warning that she was about to leave but Cosima remained still so she started slowly forward.

Cosima spotted something in the distance that caught her attention and she slammed her hand against the door of the car, "Sarah!" She called.

Sarah stopped, thinking that some sense had finally got through to Cosima and opened the door for her, "Get in Cos," She sighed.

"No Sarah- look!" She pointed to the hill.

Sarah squinted, "Is that… who's that?" She asked.

Sarah turned off the car lights and shut off the engine then got out and stood next to Cosima.

"That's… not Delphine is it?"

"No…" Cosima agreed, "They're too short…"

"So who the hell are they?"

Cosima didn't answer.

They watched as two small figures appeared to be running over the hill.

"Do you think they're coming to get us or coming _to_ us?" Cosima asked.

"Stick close to the car just in case," Sarah said and stood behind the open driver's door, watching as Cosima did the same on the other side.

"They look like children?" Cosima commented with confusion.

"It could be a trap to lure us out," Sarah said but she wasn't even convincing herself let alone Cosima.

"Turn the headlights on," Cosima instructed.

"No that'll give away our position."

"They've already seen us, just do it! We need to know who they are!"

Sarah thought that through for a second and then leaned into the car and turned the key a few notches till the lights came on.

They looked at the figures again who were no more than 400 meters away but the lights didn't reach nearly that far.

"Is that-" Sarah started, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She shared a look with Cosima, "KIRA?!" Sarah yelled.

"Mummy!" The little girl called back.

Sarah was elated, the sound of her daughters voice calling for her was a relief and she was off the instant she heard it , feeling on top of the world as she ran towards the figures, "Kira!"

"Over here Mummy!"

Sarah knew exactly where her daughter was and she was kneeling down in front of her little girl in less than a minute. "Kira! Kira are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sarah asked worriedly, checking her little girl over before pulling her in for a tight hug, "How did you get here? What did they do to you? H-How did you escape?!" Sarah was baffled and had many questions that demanded an answer but first and foremost she was ecstatic to have her daughter back, safe, and apparently unharmed.

"I'm fine Mummy," Kira said, wrapping her arms as much around Sarah as she could.

"Who's this?" Sarah asked, gesturing to the blonde girl who was almost doubled over, "Are you alri-oh!" Elissa fell without warning and neither Sarah nor Cosima were able to catch her.

Cosima was closer so she knelt down quickly, rolling the child onto her back and checking her vital signs.

"Her name is Elissa," Kira said, "She faints a lot but she's always okay when she wakes up."

"I'll take her back to the car," Cosima said, gently drawing the little girl who was white as a sheet into her arms and heading back towards the car.

"Okay…" Sarah mumbled in agreement and then picked Kira up as well, taking her back as well, "Can you tell us what happened Kira?"

Kira nodded but remained silent, breathing heavily from her run out of the Center.

Cosima placed Elissa in the car and put the seatbelt over her to keep her upright. Kira climbed over the centre console in the car and grabbed the air freshener from off the mirror, "What are you doing?" Sarah asked gently.

Kira held the tree shaped cardboard under Elissas' nose, "I saw the doctor do this to wake her up once before," Kira explained and the three watched as Elissa woke up. She looked around quickly for a moment, lifting herself up to see out the car window but then settling back down quietly when she figured out where she was.

Sarah was impressed with Kira and gave a proud smile.

"Who are you?" Elissa asked, drawing her knees up and hugging them.

"I'm Sarah, and this is Cosima," Sarah said, pointing herself and then the woman opposite her, "and I think you've already my daughter Kira."

The small girl nodded, looking at Kira.

"Can you tell us what happened to you both?" Cosima asked in her gentle voice, turning in her seat so that she was kneeling and could see the two girls.

Elissa and Kira looked at each other to see who would speak first and they silently decided that Kira would tell her story first.

"After you left with the policeman Mrs. S said we had to go because home wasn't safe anymore. We got in the car and she took me here. Then today a woman came in with Elissa, she said her name was Delphine and she told us how to escape. She said that you would be here and when we got out you were." Kira said.

"Delphine?" Cosima spoke before Sarah could further question her daughter, "Where is she? Is she okay? Why isn't she with you?"

Elissa shook her head and spoke before Kira could, "She's hurt! I don't know where she is but she stayed behind and told us to run!"

Sarah looked over at Cosima and whispered, "She told us to go…"

"We can't leave without Delphine!" Elissa cried out, leaning forward in her seat with a frightened look.

Sarah and Cosima shared another look and then Sarah looked over her shoulder at Kira, "We have to help her, she helped us." Kira said.

That was it.

"We'll wait for Delphine," Sarah decided, "No matter how long it takes, we'll wait okay?" She said, addressing the children and then Cosima.

"Thank you," Cosima whispered sincerely.

Sarah gave her a nod, she was outnumbered anyway but hearing that Delphine had been injured saving her daughter and this other little girl, put her in Sarah's good books. Delphine now had Sarah's trust and she was willing to wait for the immunologist.

"So, Elissa, tell us about yourself," Cosima spoke to start conversation.

* * *

AN: Do you want to hear Elissa's story?


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Due to the interest, there will be more on Elissa in coming chapters :)

* * *

Delphine held her breath, just waiting to be found. But wait, were the footsteps… _getting softer? _They were! Then the door clicked shut and the feet moved onto the next room. Delphine breathed a huge sigh of relief and almost laughed for not having been caught, but then winced in pain as she moved. The tall blonde-haired woman leaned on the table heavily and pulled herself off the floor, keeping her other hand pressed against the wound in her side. Delphine walked around to the door, listening to the sound of boots on linoleum and doors clicking open and shut. She checked her watch and her anxiety doubled. _I'm out of time…_

For a moment, the immunologist fought with herself about where she should go; but she wasn't going to change her plans until she knew for sure that Sarah had driven off like she'd told her to.

The sounds in the corridor got quieter and quieter until she couldn't hear anything except her own breathing and worried thoughts.

Was it safe? Were they waiting for her to come out? Or were they really gone?

Delphine peered out the window but even though she couldn't see anything she decided to wait five minutes just to be sure they weren't waiting her out.

Delphine carefully lowered the handle and opened it an inch, lining her eye up with the gap and peering down the empty corridor. She kept her keen eyes searching each inch of the hallway as it was revealed to her. When the door was half-open she poked her head out, looking all the way to the end but only saw the white wall at the end. Carefully looking to the right she found the same.

Delphine stepped out of the office and felt very exposed being in the open. She walked almost sideways down the corridor as she checked behind her and in front of her constantly. Delphine walked slowly so as not to make noise, her arm hovering over her waist, caught between cradling her wounds and trying to pretend like they weren't there, to hide her weaknesses if she was to be found.

Delphine made it to the end of corridor and still couldn't hear any sign of any one else around. She leant against the wall to peer around the corner, slowly moving forwards until she could see the also empty corridor. Perhaps it was safe?

With a frown Delphine stepped out and began in the direction of the elevator, stopping at the next intersection of pathways and checking around the corner before passing, Delphine saw a flash of uniform and pulled her head back quickly, back tracking and turning around to head back the way she'd come, slipping back into an empty corridor.

Any feelings of safety were gone and replaced with more anxiety; there wasn't anywhere she could go.

_What about the maintenance elevator? _

Delphine headed back towards that, checking over her should every few seconds, giving up the pretence that she wasn't injured and pressed her hand to her side, trying to stop the bleeding. The immunologist could feel the pulses of blood against her hand, caused by her beating heart and she could feel her warm blood soaking through her shirt and seeping through her fingers, coating her hand in miniature red rivers.

Delphine stopped at the end of the hallway and peered down it like she had at every other and checked if it was clear but it wasn't. Two guards stood by the service elevator and blocked her mode of escape.

Delphine pulled back with a quiet sigh and leaned her shoulder against the wall, trying to ignore the crippling, throbbing burn in her back and sides.

The sudden scraping noise gave her a fright and she jumped when the wall at the end of the corridor moved and a man stepped out. Fear pulsed through Delphine but the man, dressed in dirty knee length shorts and a grey shirt, just smiled and gave her a slight wave, whistling to himself as he went on his way down the corridor.

Delphine was stunned for a moment before it clicked in her mind.

_Maintenance! They have their own tunnels and hallways to get around without getting in our way- that's how I can get out!_

Delphine rushed to the wall, just catching the edge of the door with her fingernails, and letting go of her side Delphine pulled the door open and slipped inside. She found the handle on the other side and pulled it shut quickly behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. She had never been in here before but she assumed that the tunnels must follow a similar structure to the hallways and floors of the Centre. So, clutching her injured side she walked left down the dim passage, looking at the strange signs above her head that were supposed to mark doors and give directions but they might as well have been in another language because they made no sense to her.

Before long Delphine came to a 'T' intersection and she had to make her first decision, left or right?

In a maze if you follow the left wall you'll escape, it's the unspoken rule to mazes so that staff can get in and out if they need without getting lost. Therefore, following this theory, Delphine turned left and then left again at the next intersection and ran into a dead end but this presented two options: go through the door that was there or keep following the wall and going left.

Delphine opened the door and found a ladder.

_Weird. _

Leaning out she could see that the ladder went both up and down and looked as if it went on for miles!

_This must be how the maintenance men get between floors without being seen, like the crew of a ship! _

Delphine took a breath and reached out for the ladder that was at least two feet away from the edge of the floor. She was grateful for the height she had, that meant she could reach the ladder-but it did not get rid of her fear of heights. And she'd already looked down once to see where the ladder went. The fear of falling crept up in her mind as Delphine held the ladder with one hand and the doorframe with the other, too scared to continue.

_But I have to, it's my only way out…. _

The thought was not helping.

_For Cosima, you can't save Cosima if you're stuck down here… _

Even that was not enough for her to overlook her fears because honestly, falling was a _terrifying _thought. One slip and she could fall down several or more floors to her death, and not being able to see the bottom was certainly not helping, in fact, it was so dimly lit that she could barely see where the next floor above and below her were let alone see where the bottom was.

_Shit. I can't do it I can't- _

Delphine reached out with her other hand and caught the ladder in a sudden moment of bravery that surprised her.

_I can do-_

Then she looked down again.

_Non! Merde! _

But reaching so far was stretching her side- and the wound that resided there. Delphine had to make a choice; she had either to go forward, or back.

_I'm this far I might as well just- _

Delphine placed one foot on the ladder and then quickly her other as well. She released her breath slowly and looked up at where she had to go, reaching one hand up and gripping the cold metal rung for dear life, strings of French curses and phrases running through her pretty head.

_For Cosima, for Cosima, Cosima, for Cosima…. Cosima. _

Watching each rung carefully Delphine climbed up the ladder, watching her hands and feet like a hawk watching prey to make sure that she didn't miss a rung and slip. After a while she got into a paranoid rhythm and almost forgot where she was going because she was lost so deep in thoughts about _what _she was doing. But when Delphine looked up, she couldn't see how far she had left to go to get to the top. It was a little demoralising. Her arms were starting to get tired, and lactic acid was starting to build up. Holding tightly with her left hand, Delphine let go with her right and dropped it down to her side with a sigh, giving it a shake and hoping to dispel the burn that was building. Scientifically speaking Delphine knew that it would take at least ten minutes for the lactic acid to disperse properly, but that was ten minutes that Delphine did not have the luxury of spending hanging around.

But it did help a little bit so she repeated the process with her right arm and then continued on her way up the endless ladder.

It reminded her of a book she had read as a child called the Faraway Tree, in one of the volumes one of the children of the story climbed up a ladder that had no end and Delphine now felt like that child, climbing up and up and up but never reaching the top. With the pain in her arms building along with the pain in her side and back, time dragged on to make each second feel like minutes and minutes to feel like hours. It was painful and long, but at least each door that she passed meant that she was one floor closer to escape and she didn't need the unreadable signs on the door to tell her that.


	12. Chapter 12

Elissa looked between the identical women curiously, she could feel a connection to them and it made her nervous, "I-I think you already know what I am…" Elissa started.

Cosima and Sarah looked at each other; they could feel that there was something special about the child.

"You're one of us, aren't you?" Cosima spoke. Sarah shot the woman a look but Cosima was locked in an intense stare with the young girl, "324B21?" Elissa nodded her understanding.

"463E35."

"You're a clone too..." Cosima said to confirm and both Elissa and Kira nodded.

"Cosima!" Sarah hissed angrily.

"What?-Oh!" Cosima's hands flew up to cover her mouth as if she could block the words from leaving her. Kira. Of course. Kira wouldn't have known what her mother was.

Kira looked between the two women with a look of understanding, "That's why you and Helena and Aunty Alison and…" Kira tailed off, looking at Cosima.

"Cosima," the clone offered her name.

"And Cosima, all look the same?" Kira finished.

Sarah nodded, nervously biting her lip, "Yeah Monkey… But that doesn't change anything alright? I'm still your mum okay?" Sarah said.

Kira nodded wildly, "Of course Mummy!" Kira said, awkwardly hugging her mother around the seat, "Always! Nothing could change that!"

"Exactly right…." Sarah said, rubbing her daughters back, relieved that her daughter accepted this new information and didn't seem to think anything of it.

"Sooo Elissa, how long have you known you're a clone? How did you find out?" Cosima asked to bring the conversation back to the scientific marvel that sat with them.

Elissa shrugged, "I've always known, they called us that all the time and always called us by our numbers."

"Us?" Sarah asked.

Elissa nodded again, "Yes there are seven of us and we all have different numbers but we all look the same. At first they tried to keep us apart but we found each other and once they knew that, they let us see each other sometimes and they would watch what we did. We gave each other real names."

"Who is 'they'?" Cosima asked.

Elissa shrugged, "They don't tell us anything but I think they were doctors because they always wear long white doctor coats."

"What did you do all day?" Sarah asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing, they kept us in our room most times. It's boring."

Cosima was studying the girl closely, taking everything in and analysing what she said, "How do you know so much?"

"Know so much about what?"

"Everything."

"Sometimes Jane comes and teaches me things, it's fun! Because then I'm not alone and she reads to me and she showed me how to read and she teaches me to write and sometimes I get to colour!" Elissa spoke, getting more and more excited and beginning to creep out of her shy shell.

Sarah suddenly opened the door of the car and got out without a word.

"Mummy?" Kira asked.

"Sarah! What are you doing?" Cosima called, "SARAH!"

Cosima got out of the vehicle as well but stood by the car.

"Just take care of the kids and make sure they're safe!" Sarah called before running off into the darkness.

Cosima was severely confused, "Sarah!" She yelled after the woman. What was she supposed to do now?

Sarah ignored her and kept running towards the hill that Delphine had gone over hours before.

"What the hell are you doing…" Cosima asked to wind, leaning on the car door as she watched Sarah disappear into the night.

With a sigh, Cosima got back in the car and shut the doors, locking them.

"What's Mum doing?" Kira asked.

"I don't know kiddo," Cosima answered, "But she'll be alright."

The car fell silent for a while as they all waited for something to happen but the silence made Cosima nervous, it made her think of horrible scenarios where Delphine got killed and Sarah captured. She needed a distraction.

"Elissa, did they tell you why they kept you at the Center?"

"No, but they did lots tests on us."

Cosima frowned, "What kind of tests?" She asked and then mentally smacked herself for asking; of course the girl wouldn't know what kind of tests.

Elissa shrugged, "I don't know, they gave me a lot of needles and sometimes they take my blood. I don't like when they do that, it hurts! Can you die if they take too much blood because they take like this much," Elissa indicated with her hands an exaggerated measurement and Cosima smiled at the girl's innocent fears, she figured that they'd fill the sample tube each time they took a sample of the girls blood.

"Yes you can die if you lose too much blood but I promise you them taking that much won't kill you. I'm a scientist you know." She told the girl who seemed to become restless.

"Do you work here?" She asked fearfully.

"What?" Cosima breathed, "No! No no I don't- I'm a student. I go to university, I learn about us. I don't work here." She said, her hands waving animatedly.

"Are the lollies good?" Kira asked and Elissa just looked at her like she had four heads in confusion, "When you get your needles and they give you a lolly are the ones they give you good?"  
Elissa frowned again, "Lollies? They don't give me anything when I get my needles…"

"Aaww then they haven't been doing it right!" Kira said, "When you have a needle they have to give you a chocolate or something to make you feel better." Kira said, "That's how it works! But sometimes the chocolates are old and they don't taste so nice."

"Oh…" Elissa answered but still looked perplexed, "I don't know what chocolate is." She confessed.

Both Kira and Cosima's mouths dropped open, "What?" Cosima questioned in shock, "Well, when we get back we'll get you both some chocolate so you can try some okay? Looks like we have a lot to teach you and show you Elissa!" Cosima said absently, wondering where Sarah and Delphine were and if they were coming back.

"Can… can I please stand outside?" Elissa asked timidly.

"What for?" Cosima asked with curiosity, she wasn't going to deny the girl but she genuinely didn't know _why _should would want to be outside.

She shrugged shyly, not wanting to explain herself, "I-I want to feel what it's like."

Cosima's expression reflected the wonder she held for the child, "You've never been outside the Center before have you?"

Elissa shook her head, once again hiding behind her blonde hair.

"So you've never been outside to play?" Kira asked with the same result.

"You can go outside if you want, just stay close to the car okay?" Cosima said and she nodded, uncurling herself and opening the car door.

Elissa swung her legs over the edge and slid off the seat until her bare feet hit the gravel ground. She flexed her toes against the rough surface and crouched down, picking a lose stone up in her fingers and feeling it's rough surface, studying it intensely for a while then pocketing it and poking at the dirt.

Cosima looked up and found Kira watching her, she found it a little unnerving but she was fascinated by the children in front of her, both were scientific marvels just like she was. Though of course she wasn't just interested in them because they were the product of scientific experiments, she was interested in who they were, and she was surprisingly excited about getting to know them. Cosima surprised herself with how she felt like a mother to them even though she had barely known the girls for more than ten minutes or so. She supposed it was because Kira technically shared DNA with her or because it was within human programing to care for your young that she felt a motherly protection of the children or maybe it was just because they were so young and in danger.

"Mum's in trouble," Kira spoke suddenly.

Cosima subconsciously tipped her head to the side, "How do you know?" She asked gently.

"I can just feel it, something bad is happening."

_What do I do? _Cosima thought. _I can't just leave them here, but if Sarah really is in trouble then I can't take them with me either…_


	13. Chapter 13

Delphine stopped, she could see the top now, she was almost there, halfway between levels but strength had left her. It was all she could do to hold on now. The burning in her body was too much for her to bare and she just wanted it to end. Delphine's untrained arms shook with the strain of climbing for so long and combined with the pain shooting through her body with every movement , it had pushed her past her limits.

Moving was not an option.

Delphine stood still on the ladder, holding onto the rung by her head and waiting for something to change; her arms to hurt less or the unbearable burn and sting in her back to stop, for someone to save her- anything, anything that would get her out of this nightmare. How was she supposed to deal with this? How was she expected to get away?

It wasn't possible.

Delphine bit her lip, the severity of the situation had overwhelmed her and unwanted tears slipped out of her control. She couldn't do it, she knew she was so close but she just couldn't make it, it was too much, too far, too much pain.

_Cosima…_ She needed to see Cosima there above her, waiting. She needed to see what she was fighting for, she needed the end of the fight to be just _there_. She knew that if she could just make it up the next ten rungs or so she would be at the top and the hard part would be over. But she couldn't do it.

_Failure… _

She felt like she had failed Cosima, she'd promised to find the cure and heal Cosima, but what good was having the cure if she couldn't push herself to save her? Delphine couldn't control her emotions any more than she could control her body now. She rested her head numbly against her hands, drying her eyes.

_I just want it to be over…_

It surprised her just how emotionally draining the day had become, she never would have thought it would be _this _difficult. How could she be expected to save Cosima when she couldn't even save herself?

The door above her squeaked open and Delphine's head shot up; A uniformed figure stood, hidden behind a rifle, uniform and helmet with an air of control and authority. They had come for her.

_They found me…_

Delphine could not see any chance for escape now, not now that they had found her. Still Delphine could not bring herself to move, not upwards nor down to find a way out.

_Merde…_

She waits. If they want to take her then they'll have to come down and get her because she isn't going to move. She can't. Everything hurts too much.

"Delphine?" The voice questions in surprise, like they weren't expecting to find the immunologist.

Delphine is confused, shouldn't the figure be ordering her up the ladder and to come with them?

"It's me!"

"Cosima?" Delphine asks with hope.

The figure struggles to single handily pulls off the goggles and helmet to reveal their identity, "Sarah! H-how did you get in? W-_why_ are you here?"

"Later, come on we've got to get out of here!" Sarah says, laying the rifle down and reaching down to Delphine.

"Where's Cosima?" Delphine asks, not moving.

"Back in the car we found Kira and Elissa, well more like they found us. Now come on, get up!" Sarah instructs hurriedly.

"I-I can't…" Delphine whispers.

"What?" Sarah raises her voice though she understands what is happening to Delphine, but she won't stand for it, "You came in here to get the cure to save Cosima, then you save a little girl you don't know _and_ my daughter but now you're just going to stand there give up?!" Delphine lowered her head, trying to regain the will to move and remember how to move her ailing body, "You got the cure right? Now are you going to let Cosima _die _just because you can't climb up six ladder rungs?" Sarah knew that she was being harsh but she hoped it would be what the woman needed to push her to keep going.

Without looking at Sarah Delphine moved her hand up to the next rung and with an immense amount of effort started to climb again, dragging her body up towards Sarah.

Sarah smiled to herself, reaching out again to take Delphine's hand.

Delphine focused on placement of her feet while trying to ignore the burning, the stinging and the throbbing in her body till Sarah's hand came into her line of sight and only then did she look back up at the woman.

Delphine took Sarah's hand, "We found Kira, you saved my daughter… thank you." She spoke softly now and Delphine barely nods. With one hand on the door frame Sarah helped Delphine across the gap. She was almost at the point of passing out and clutching her side, Delphine feelt dizzy and faint but Sarah steadies her, "Elissa said you were hurt?"

"Shot…" Delphine breathes out.

Sliding an arm around Delphine's waist Sarah tries to take some of Delphine's weight to help the woman walk, "Lean on me," Sarah instructs, "The exit is this way."

Delphine leans on Sarah, placing her arm over the shorter woman's shoulders, "The samples in my bag need to stay at body temperature or they'll die," She barely manages to speak.

"We can talk about this later-"

"The files I found are in my bag also and-"

"Delphine, I really don't think paperwork is our biggest problem right now," Sarah grunts, guiding Delphine down the corridor and tyring to remember which way she came in.

"Files on Kira…"

"Tell me later!" Sarah says absently, not hearing what the woman said as she was looking around her and trying to get her bearings. _Which way?_

"Files on all of you and Elissa…."

"Not now Delphine!" Sarah looks back behind her to the ladder and then remembers the door she came through was directly opposite that. Sarah begins walking again towards the door that she now knows is the one that will get her back to the Center entrance.

Delphine was still mumbling things and Sarah couldn't tell if she was speaking science or French but she could feel Delphine relying more and more on her to hold her up.

_Crap. _Sarah knew she wouldn't be able to hold all of Delphine's weight on her own.

"Delphine?" She called, "Delphine what are you saying? Talk to me," She instructs, trying to keep her awake but she doesn't respond, "Delphine!" Sarah snaps.

"Quoi?"

_Well, that's a start. _"Uhhh…" Sarah tries to think of something to ask the immunologist. _Might as well get some useful information..._ "How did you manage to get Kira and Elissa out but not yourself?"

"Service elevator," Delphine whispered, her free arm holding her side and her head downcast to watch where she placed her feet.

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"Not enough time…"

Sarah made it to the door and opened it, peering out to check the main lobby, "Almost there…" She whispered and stepped out into the light, "Ask me a question," Sarah says.

_Because then she has to think, you have to stay awake to think. _

"How did you, find me?"

"Pure fluke." Sarah answered, struggling across the floor towards the door with the green 'Exit' sign above it, "Didn't want Leekie or anyone to see me so I ducked into the passage way when I saw someone come out of it. Ask me another."

"Why… why-"

"No bad guy saves little kids." Sarah answered before Delphine could even get the question out, "Keep going."

"Why not Cosima?"

Sarah wasn't entirely sure what she was asking; why wasn't Cosima saving her? "We do have one thing in common Delphine, we both want to protect Cosima, and she's at risk of dying enough as it is."

"But you have Kira…"

Sarah and Delphine had made it to the exit and Sarah opened the door, holding it open with her foot and then her shoulder as they passed through it, "I don't plan on dying. Next question."

"How did you… get in?"

"Stole a guards' uniform and used his pass, I'd seen how you open the door to get in as people moved in out of here." Sarah glanced at the figure on the ground and as soon as he saw her he began thrashing, trying to break the bonds that held him, startling Delphine, "His uniform to be exact. Don't mind him, he isn't going anywhere any time soon."

"Cosima…" Delphine whispered.

"Yeah, we're close now okay? Don't give up!" Delphine whispered something that Sarah didn't understand, "English Frenchie English! I don't speak science or French so you're gonna have to speak in English."

Again Delphine spoke, in English this time but Sarah couldn't hear her over the sound of their footsteps and her laboured breathing, all she caught was Cosima's name, then her own, then Leekie's.

Sarah practically dragged Delphine out of the cave and started up the hill. It was slow going as the hill was quite steep, "Hey, Delphine, I'm not carrying you up this hill you gotta stay awake yeah?" Sarah spoke and Delphine nodded slightly.

Sarah was glad that the hill wasn't very big, because she could sense that Delphine was barely managing to stay upright.

Cresting the hill Delphine saw the car lights flick on in the distance, "Ey Delphine, look up. There's Cosima okay? Right over there, you just gotta make it to the car." Sarah encouraged.

Delphine looked up and saw the lights of the car and vaguely the figures in it.

But everything was hazy, it wasn't like everything was blurry or fuzzy, but it didn't feel real. She couldn't feel her fingertips or now that she thought about it, her legs or her arms or anything but a strangeness and a pressure in her head. Was what she seeing real? It didn't look real. Suddenly the world seemed grainy, like you were looking at an old tv show from back in the 19980-90's, it was spotty and sections of her vision didn't seem to exist anymore. Then she couldn't tell where she was, which way was up? Wasn't there supposed to be noise? The wind, people talking, a car engine… Something?

Nothing.

_What is happening- _


	14. Chapter 14

Cosima sat anxiously in the car, her attention being drawn to the kids and watching the hill for Sarah or Delphine. Then she saw the hill move- two heads appeared.

_That must be them! _

It was almost difficult to distinguish that there were two people as they stood so close together.

"Elissa get back in the car please!" Cosima called, climbing over the centre console and sliding the keys into the ignition, "Buckle up kids!" She said, quickly checking that they were both in the car, which they were, and putting their seatbelts on.

Cosima turned the car on, pulled it into 'drive' and floored it, speeding straight towards the two struggling figures. She could tell from the height differences that Delphine was leaning on Sarah for support.

In under 15 seconds Cosima was breaking, turning the car and stopping just a few meters short of the pair and fumbling to get the door open in her hurry.

"Delphine!" Cosima yelled, "Sarah! Sarah what happened? What did you do? How did you find Delphine? W-Where is she hurt? Are you okay?" Cosima asked in a rush as she ran to Delphine's side to help just as Delphine went limp, Cosima and Sarah were barely able to hold her even though they both had their arms around the tall woman.

"Later Cos-" Sarah grunted, trying to lift Delphine.

"Delphine!" Cosima yelled again, trying to move the blonde hair away from Delphine's face and tapping her cheek to try and wake her, "Delphine? Can you hear me? Wake up Delphine," She called desperately.

"Get her to the car!" Sarah instructed.

Cosima pulled Delphine's arm around her shoulders and helped Sarah bring Delphine back to the vehicle, now very glad that she driven or they would have had a long walk ahead of them. Together the two women moved Delphine to the car. Kira undid her seatbelt and opened the door for them.

"Shuffle over Monkey," Sarah said, trying to figure out how they were going get Delphine in the car. Kira shuffled over to sit next to Elissa, "Actually, both of you hop out for a minute," Sarah said and then looked at Cosima, "You take her legs and together we'll put her in the car and then get her upright alright?" Sarah suggested and Cosima nodded, "Oh hang on, take her pack off." Sarah remembered, "Err, Kira come round here," Sarah indicated with her head to come around their side of the car.

Kira ran around the back of the car, "Take the bag," Sarah said, pulling the strap off Delphine's shoulder and untangling it from the woman's arm and then holding Delphine up while Cosima did the same on the other side.

Kira took the bag and held it carefully, "Keep the bag warm Monkey; hug it to you, it's important okay?" Sarah said and Kira nodded, standing by the car's rear lights to stay out of the way and waiting for further instructions.

They checked that the backseat was clear and then Sarah ducked down into the car, guiding Delphine's head and shoulders in while Cosima lifted her legs. Sarah slid back across the seats, pulling Delphine with her while Cosima pushed.

"Alright now sit her up," Sarah said when she was almost out the other side of the car.

Sarah placed her hands under Delphine's shoulders, grunting with the effort that it took to lift the deadweight up. Cosima moved Delphine's legs into the car and when Sarah had the woman halfway up, she wrapped her arms around Delphine's torso and helped pull her upright. The two women breathed a sigh of relief now that it was over. Sarah backed out of the car and Cosima placed the seatbelt over Delphine, clicking it into place.

"You drive," Cosima said, moving around the vehicle to get in, "I'll take care of Delphine," Cosima got into the back and slid in next to Delphine, pulling at Delphine's shirt to access the injury.

"Monkey you're up front with me, Elissa, you hop in the back with Cosima." Sarah directed and they all scrambled to get into their assigned seats, followed by a chorus of opening and closing doors and the sound of seatbelts being clicked into place.

Once all the doors closed and everyone as buckled in, the light in the interior of the car went out as Sarah started to drive, Cosima reached up to turn it back on, smearing the switch with blood.

"I-is Delphine going to be okay?" Elissa asked timidly.

"Yes," Cosima answered determinedly, "Yes of course she will," Cosima said_. She has to be…She MUST be. Delphine can't leave me..._

Cosima pulled Delphine's shirt up and gasped, she could clearly see where the bullet had torn through Delphine's side, leaving a long grove in Delphine's skin. A good 3-inches all around the opening was covered in blood- some wet and some dry, but more was running down her side as it came pulsing out of her body with every beat of the woman's heart.

The atmosphere in the car was tense as Cosima struggled out of her sweater and pressed it against the opening to stop the bleeding, placing one hand on Delphine's back and the other over the wound.

Delphine flinched, moving slightly, "Delphine?" asked worriedly.

"Mon amour, Je t'aime Je t'aime, Cosima, mon amour,"

"Delphine? Delphine stay awake!" Cosima pleaded, tapping the woman's cheek.

"What's happening Cos?!"

"Delphine's mumbling!" Cosima said with hope, watching as Delphine lifted her head slightly and looked at her, "Delphine?" Cosima asked again, lifting a bloodied hand to the woman's cheek, "Can you hear me?" Cosima's heart thudded painfully in her chest

"Cosi-" Delphine's gaze became unfocused and her eyes rolled shut again, falling limp again.

"No! Delphine!" Cosima cried, tapping the woman's cheek as tears rolled down her own, "Wake up Delphine! Wake up!" She pleaded. She knew that the immunologist was still alive, she could feel the heart beat through the hand that was pressed to Delphine's back but she desperately needed to see woman wake.

When Cosima focused her attentions back on the woman's injuries she became attuned to the fact that there was blood around Delphine's back, so she pushed Delphine forward, lifting her shirt at the back till she found the second hole in the woman's back.

"Sarah! There's another one- another, uh, uh," Everything in her brain was scrambled and she couldn't quite think clearly about words.

"Another what Cosima?!" Sarah asked, jerking on the steering wheel around a bend.

"Another bullet wound! She's been shot twice!" Cosima said, her voice breaking as she moved the sweater to cover both wounds.

"Can you see the bullet? Can you get it out?" Sarah asked, flashing a glance in the rear view mirror.

"I don't know Sarah! You're asking too much of me! I do evolutionary development, I'm not pre-med or anything like that! I-I-I don't know how to deal with this! I don't know if we're supposed to take the bullet out of leave it in. I don't know if taking it out is going to make it worse! I don't even know where the bullet is!" Cosima yelled across the car.

"Okay! Okay! I get it you don't know!" Sarah yelled back.

"Just stop the bleeding or-"

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Cosima snapped.

"I don't know! I'm watching the road!" Sarah replied, waving her hands as she spoke

"Well keep your hands on the wheel!"

"Don't tell me what to do I know how to drive!"

"Well I wouldn't have to tell you if you just kept your hands on the wheel and drove properly!" Cosima argued, briefly glaring while pushing her glasses back up her nose and pointing accusingly.

"You just keep your hands on Delphine and stop her from dying- she's the only one that knows how to cure you!"

"I am! I am!" Cosima yelled back, "No need to tell me what to do!"

"Well I wouldn't have to tell you if-"

"Oh shut up!" Cosima interrupted.

Yes. The situation was very, very tense to say the least. But the talking- yelling, gave them an outlet and unknowingly helped them to keep a level head on what they had to do.

Now all they had to do was figure out where they were and find a hospital for Delphine.


	15. Chapter 15

I know it sucks but I used google translate cos I dunno French- sorry to any actual French readers!

* * *

Cosima sat by Delphine's bed, stroking her hand and staring at their entwined fingers. She didn't need the consistent beep of the heart monitor to tell her that Delphine was alive, she could feel the beat of Delphine's blood moving through her veins just through their joined hands.

It was strange, she thought, how quickly their roles had been reversed. Now Cosima sat on Delphine's bed while Delphine had wires and machine's hooked up to her.

"Is Delphy ok?" Elissa asked, startling Cosima.

Cosima turned to the little girl and let go of Delphine's hand, moving to stand by the other bed.

"Yes, Delphine's going to be okay. She'll be sore for a while but the doctors fixed her up," Cosima assured, "They checked you over too and you're okay as well." Cosima said with a small smile to which Elissa nodded with a matching small smile.

"Where's Kira?"

"She's gone with Sarah, her mum, to a hotel for a rest but then they'll back sometime today to see you and Delphine, alright?" Cosima asked, gently moving the long blonde hair away from the girls cute young face.

"What's a hotel?"

"A hotel is a… it's a place you can stay at to sleep if you're going somewhere away from home." Cosima tried to explain.

"What's a hotel like?"

"They're all different, some are very good and have soft pillows and pools but some are also quite bad and smelly."

"Oh…" Elissa said, taking everything in.

"You've had a big day you should try and get some sleep Little One."

Elissa nodded, lying back down on her hospital bed and Cosima pulled the blankets up to her chin, tucking her in.

"Pst!"

Cosima looked up to the doorway where one of the doctors stood, he waved Cosima over. She got off the bed and walked to the door, closing it behind her so that they could speak freely without fear of waking either of the patient's in the room.

"What's up Doc?"

"Due to the nature of your friend- Delphine's, injuries we, as per standard protocol for a wound of her type, had to report it to the police," Cosima wanted to yell at the man for getting the authorities or involved, or at the very least groan and facepalm, "They're not here now, but they will come when she wakes up . They'll want to know how and why she was shot and all that."

Cosima nodded, "Okay, well I don't know how it happened."

"That's fine, they'll want to question your friend anyway."

"Uh yeah, thanks for letting me know in advance."

The doctor just gave a polite smile, "No problem." He said with a wave and then went to walk away.

"Uhm just one question," Cosima spoke quickly before the doctor walked away, "Is Elissa okay?"

"Yes, she will be. We've been running a few tests on her but so far all we've found is that she's malnourished and we suspect that she may have a weak heart."

"Okay… Thanks," Cosima said with a fake smile till the doctor went on his way.

Then Cosima breathed out angrily and pulled out her pink covered phone to text Sarah the new information and returned to her spot by Delphine's side. But as soon as she'd hit 'send' she heard the answering ringtone as Sarah came in with Kira.

"Hey Cosima," She whispered.

Elissa's head shot up at the door opening, "Kira!" She greeted excitedly, sitting up again and pushing the sheets back down to her waist. Sarah lifted Kira onto Elissa's bed and the two girls hugged and began chatting away like they had been friends for life.

"Hey," Cosima replied, licking her lips.

"No change?"

"No."

"Did you sleep at all? You don't look like you did."

"Hardly," Cosima replied.

Sarah handed her the cardboard cup she was holding, "Here, I think you need this more than me."

"Thanks…" Cosima mumbled, taking the cup and drinking some, "Ugh," Cosima's face twisted in distaste, "Needs sugar!" She announced, handing it back to Sarah.

"Does not," Sarah argued in jest.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you before," Cosima said, tearing her eyes away from Delphine to look Sarah in the eyes so that the woman would know how sincerely she meant it.

"It's not a problem," Sarah replied, "I understand… It was a tough situation, we were under stressful circumstances…" Sarah shrugged, "It's fine. The main thing is that everyone is safe."

"Yeah-" Cosima didn't get to finish her sentence as a cough ripped through her, bringing with it a mix of blood and mucus from her lungs. Sarah calmly passed Cosima the tissue box, pretending like Cosima's was illness was nothing more than a bad chest cold.

Cosima accepted the tissues, working her lungs free of the fluid and wiping her mouth to rid her lips of the deep red colouring. But she couldn't remove the taste from her mouth.

"You're not going to say anything?" Cosima asked, pulling in a ragged breath, alerting her to the fact that there was more to come.

"No, I told you I wouldn't." Sarah said, sipping her coffee calmly and glancing at the children on the other bed, "I'm surprised that you made it so long."

Cosima chose not to tell Sarah about the 'fit' she'd had in the car after she'd left.

"Why'd do it?" Cosima asked curiously, "Save Delphine?"

Sarah shifted and glanced down at the ground for a moment, she really didn't want to talk about her motives, "Ah well, you know-"

"Cosima?"

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, _saved by Delphine! _She thought.

"Delphine!" Cosima beamed, "Hey, how you feeling?"

"Sore… tired," Delphine looked around her quickly and then started pushing herself upright, "Where are we?!"

"A hospital, I don't actually know _where _exactly we are, but a hospital."

"What? No! Why would you do that?! They'll find us!" Delphine said, pushing the sheets of herself and looking at the machines around her, wincing when she moved her torso.

"Whoa calm down Delphine!" Cosima said, placing her hands on Delphine's shoulders to keep her relatively still and prevent her from leaving the bed, "What did you expect me to do? You were bleeding out on the backseat of your car what was I supposed to do?"

"We have to leave!" Delphine said urgently, gripping Cosima's arms and staring at her with wide, panicked eyes.

"You need rest, you need to heal. How are they going to find us?"

"The Center- they have everyone's DNA, fingerprints even dental records on file, if the hospital puts anything on file, even my name, the Center will find us!" Delphine explained, "Her too." Delphine gestured to the young girls.

"O-okay but Delphine you're in ICU, they won't just let you walk out of here, not until they deem you well enough."

"So we break her out," Sarah replied, downing the rest of her coffee and twirling the cup in her hand.

"How are-" A knock on the door interrupted Cosima and they all turned to see who it was.

Two uniformed officers entered the room, "Hello, I'm Detective Rick and this is my partner Detective Cambell, we need to speak with Ms. Cormier," Detective Rick said.

Delphine's eyes flicked between Cosima, Sarah, Kira, Elissa and the two detectives in front of her. The room was silent now and everyone was either watching the detectives or Delphine.

"I'll take the girls for a walk," Sarah said, moving over to the second bed and helping the children off the bed and directing them out of the room, allowing the detectives to move closer to Delphine and Cosima.

"So what can you tell us about how you got your injuries?"

"Je ne peux pas vous le dire, vous ne me croiriez pas de toute façon," Delphine replied._ I can not tell you, you would not believe me anyway_.

"Vraiment? Nous avons entendu toutes les excuses," The female detective spoke much to Delphine's surprise. _Really? We have heard all the excuses._

"I do not have to answer your questions," Delphine spoke, crossing her arms in annoyance. _Why did everyone have to know French?_

"No you don't but it's in your best interests. We can catch the person."

"Vous ne pouvez pas attraper quelqu'un au-dessus de la loi." _You can not catch someone above the law._

"So you know who shot you?" Delphine remained stubbornly silent, "Hey, I've got all day and you're not going anywhere so why not just make this easy and tell us who shot you?"

Again Delphine remained silent.

"What's your name Miss?" Detective Rick asked Cosima.

"Cosima," She answered wearily.

"Cosima, what do you know about what happened?"

"Nothing."

"The doctors said that you were with Ms. Cormier when you arrived, so surely you must know _something_."

"I only administered first aid."

"Okay, what about your sister? What does she know? We know that she had your friends blood on her too when you arrived."

"She doesn't know anything either."

"No? Okay, what about the two little girls with you? What do they know?"

"You stay away from them! They don't know _anything_!" Cosima raised her voice, getting defensive.

"Alright, alright, just take a deep breath and calm down Miss." The detective said, sharing a look with his partner.

"You are aware that this has to be reported aren't you?" Detective Cambell asked.

"I do not wish to take legal action so I do not see why this must be documented." Delphine spoke.

"It's protocol that gunshot wounds be investigated, what if you're linked to an international drug cartel? Or where injured during a police shooting? Or a wanted criminal who escaped during arrest? So you see why we have to investigate these things. And it only makes you look more suspicious for not wanting to co-operate."

Delphine refused to speak.

"If you need protection we can provide that, you just have to tell us what happened," Detective Rick baited.

The room stayed silent save for the consistent beep of Delphine's heart monitor.

Then Detective Cambell's phone beeped and she had to break her hard stare at Delphine to check what the message was. Then she leaned over and whispered in her partner's ear, showing him the phone. They conversed quietly for a moment before detective Rick addressed them, "We'll be back for further questioning," he said and then the pair headed towards the door, "Have a nice day." he said curtly.

Delphine breathed a careful sigh of relief, "Cosima," She said, tugging on the woman's hand to get her attention, "We have to get out of here. Leekie will find us."


	16. Chapter 16

Cosima nodded her agreement, Leekie would find them.

"Okay," She verbally agreed, "We'll do what we did before, why reinvent the wheel right? I'll go down stairs and get your clothes, is your bag still in the trunk?" Delphine nodded, "Okay, I'll be right back!" She said, hopping off the bed and quickly kissing Delphine's cheek before rushing out the door.

Cosima left Delphine's room with a quick and determined stride, navigating the corridors effectively even though she had only been down them once before. She made sure to follow the signs to the cafeteria and searched for Sarah, spotting her and the two girls with sandwiches, cake slices and milk shakes.

"Cosima!" Elissa called, holding up her slice of what looked like chocolate cake, "Look! Sarah gave me cake! It's really good!" She beamed and then took a chunk out of it.

Cosima did not think that hospital cake tasted all _that _great, but to a young child who had never had cake, it must have tasted like heaven, "That's great! Lucky you," Cosima replied with exaggerated enthusiasm for the child's benefit, "Hey Sarah I need the car keys."

Sarah leaned back further in her seat, digging the keys out of her jeans pocket, "Where you going?"

"Just to get some stuff… Can you get the samples back from the hospital?"

"Yeah, why? You wanna leave _now _?" Sarah whispered the last part.

"We have to or Leekie will find us," Cosima whispered back.

Sarah handed the keys to Cosima, "Alright, but no hurry yeah? We're ahead of them, just let the children finish their food and then we'll leave. Car's on the second parking floor, row 12."

Cosima agreed and then headed towards the elevator but before she could press the button it opened. A few people got out but some stayed and the ones who stayed looked at her oddly and one asked if she was alright. Cosima, looking down at herself only then realised that she still wore Delphine's shirt which had been covered with patches of injured woman's blood.

"Oh…" she said as she looked down at herself and got in the lift, pressing the desired button, "Yeah. It's not mine…" She said quietly, hugging her arms around herself and covering the blood as best she could

The elevator remained silent after that, it felt awkward to Cosima who felt like everyone was now judging her or feeling sympathetic but either way she didn't enjoy being in the spot light, she just wanted to blend in with the crowd. So of course the lift had to stop at almost every floor to extend her discomfort.

By the time the lift reached the second basement floor there was no one else in the lift but now that Cosima was once again aware of the dark red and brown splotches on her clothes, she felt self conscious enough that she didn't move her arms just in case someone else saw her, till she found where Sarah had parked Delphine's car.

Cosima unlocked the car and opened the boot, pulling Delphine's bag towards her she unzipped it and pulled out the first shirt she found and threw it on over the clothes she was already wearing, zipped up the bag and relocked the car.

_Now people wont stare at me. _

Cosima made her way back upstairs without any issues, this time heading directly back to ICU without detouring to Sarah. When she got to back to Delphine's room, she found the woman had fallen asleep.

_She must be so exhausted… _Cosima thought as she approached the bed and pulled the curtain around the bed to shield them from the occasional passer-by.

"Delphine," Cosima called, taking the woman's hand and watching as the numbers on the heart monitor rose slowly as the woman woke, "Time to go."

Delphine mumbled something and then blinked a couple of times, rubbing her eyes to try and wake up, "Oh I am so tired," She said, stifling a yawn and raising the bed with the remote so that she was sitting up.

"I know, they've been pumping a lot of things into you to help you sleep and heal and feel better."

"Mm…." Delphine agreed, checking the machinery around her, "Turn that one off first," Delphine pointed to the heart monitor, "Push the orange button."

Cosima let go of Delphine's hand and moved around the bed, lifting the lid that covered the orange button and pressing it once. The monitor went black and the lights went out.

"Done."

Delphine pulled at the cords that went down the top of her hospital gown and pulled them off, dropping them on the floor.

"Now turn the little knob on the IV bag upwards."

Cosima turned the knob, "Other way!" Delphine gasped and Cosima quickly obeyed.

Then Delphine carefully pulled the tape off her hand and removed the drip they had stuck into her, placing it on the bed next to her.

"Now for fun part!" Cosima said with a smile and Delphine couldn't help but smile back through the pain as she twisted and swung her legs off the bed.

"Pass me my chart?" Delphine said though it posed as more of a question.

Cosima nodded and handed Delphine the clipboard of papers that hung at the foot of the bed.

Delphine flipped through the pages of medical notes and diagrams till she found the page that kept record of what medication she had been given and when, "You're driving," She announced, "I can't drive for at least 4 hours but better not to chance it all and wait till tomorrow."

"Delphine you're not driving in your state till you get better!" Cosima said and Delphine didn't argue, "Now, what do you want to wear?" Cosima asked, lifting the bag onto the bed.

Delphine pulled the bag closer to her and rummaged through it for a while to assess what her options were before she finally decided on one of her skirts and a shirt.

"You making a habit of wearing my clothes?" Delphine asked with a soft smile while undoing the bows on the back of her gown.

"Maybe," Cosima grinned back, glad that they were able to joke and make light of the situation, "Want help?"

"Always quick to undress me are you not?"

Cosima just gave Delphine one of her devilishly cheeky grins as she helped Delphine off the bed.

But if she was honest with herself, she wasn't entirely comfortable with helping Delphine dress. There was still some tension lingering in the air and though their relationship was repairing well, they were not at a point were they were comfortable to be physically explorative of each other again. But Cosima was able to put their relational issues aside to help Delphine especially since she didn't like the idea of someone else taking care of her.

She caught a glimpse of the bandage that wound around Delphine's middle as the gown dropped and Delphine stepped out of it, but Cosima forced herself to look away, blindly passing Delphine her undergarments and waiting for her to tell her when she was ready.

Within seconds the woman was calling her name and Cosima looked up, focusing in the woman's face and the sheepish expression there, "I need help," She said almost shyly and her cheeks tinged with pink.

Cosima recognised that it was hard to admit dependence on someone else for simple daily tasks but she admired Delphine for putting her wellbeing before her pride and she gave her a small reassuring, comforting smile . This might be just what they needed to help repair their relationship.


	17. Chapter 17

"Oi, Cosima! Delphine! You two done yet?" Sarah asked, startling the pair behind the curtain.

"Just give us a sec Sarah," Cosima responded, watching Delphine's face as she lifted the skirt by its waistband till Delphine could reach it herself without having to bend and stretch her wounds.

"Merci," Delphine whispered, tentatively touching Cosima's cheek and watching her eyelids flutter and lip part slightly, just like they had the first time Delphine had done it.

"Anytime," Cosima whispered back though she didn't know why she was whispering. She smiled another small smile and then broke their intense gaze, grabbing Delphine's shoes and pushing them onto her feet, "Ready?"

Delphine nodded affirmatively and picked up her bag as Cosima pulled back the curtain that sealed them off from the rest of the world.

"Alright let's go then," Sarah called, taking Kira's hand.

Elissa ran over to Delphine and slid her small hand into Delphine's, looking up at the woman to see if she accepted her action. Delphine smiled easily at the girl, gently stroking her white hair and then turning to Cosima, offering the PhD student her other hand to which she accepted.

When the group looked up Sarah was already out in the hallway, waiting for them.

"Where are we going to go?" Cosima asked to no one in particular.

"To get Felix," Sarah said.

"We'll need a bigger car then, can't fit six people in Delphine's." Cosima replied.

"I know…But we'd have to ditch it anyway, they could be tracking it. Your cell phone too."

"I left it back at the Center," Delphine pitched in.

Kira pushed the button to call the lift.

"You got the samples?" Cosima asked.

"Uh huh," Sarah answered, stepping into the elevator and pushing the correct button.

Elissa looked around the lift in awe, she'd been in it a few times now but it still felt new to her.

"Wait, do you think the Center knows about Felix? I mean, they knew about Kira…"

Sarah looked at Cosima, an unsure expression on her face, "Who knows…"

The small army moved out of the elevator and, directed by Sarah, walked to the car and piled in.

"Delphine are you alright to get in?" Cosima asked quietly and Delphine nodded, moving stiffly and trying to avoid twisting her torso as she got into the small car.

Cosima waited till the injured woman was mostly in the car before moving into the front seat and easily entering the passengers seat.

Sarah waited until Elissa and Kira climbed into the backseat of the car before closing their door and moving around to the drivers side.

"Delphy are you okay now?" Elissa asked, sitting in the middle seat.

Delphine's head snapped up from the window, "Hm? Oh, not yet Elissa," She said stroking the girls hair, "My back is very sore and it will be for quite a while, but I will be okay," she reassured.

But if she were honest, she was far from 'okay' and she though she wasn't in pain yet, she knew she would be and she did not look forward to it.

Delphine rested her head against the window once more, closing her eyes and giving into the desire to sleep.

Cosima watched Delphine through the mirror on the sun visor and whilst Sarah mainly watched the road, her eyes flicked up the rear view mirror though not to check who was behind them, but rather to check on the three in the back.

The trip remained fairly quiet as the two young girls taught each other games like 'I Spy' and 'Spotto'. The only other sound was the voice of the GPS that guided Sarah back to familiar ground, back to the graffitied streets and slums, back to Felix- back into the dangerzone, back within Leekie's grasp but also further away.

The hours past by as fast as the lines on the road, she drove as if on autopilot despite never having been in this part of the country.

She pulled up outside Felix's loft, turning the engine off and turning to her companion whom she found curled up and sleeping in her seat.

_Is that what I look like when I sleep? _

"Cosima," Sarah called, gently shaking the woman's shoulder.

Cosima jumped, her body snapping to attention and her eyes flicking about until she somewhat gathered her bearings, at least, enough to cease the fight or flight reaction that her body has defensively induced.

"Where are we?" She asked as soon as words caught up with her.

"Felix's place," Sara answered, climbing out of the car.

Cosima looked back at Delphine and found that she was still asleep.

Kira and Elissa climbed out of the car and Cosima slid in the back, gently shaking Delphine's shoulder, "Delphine, time to wake up," She called gently. The woman barely moved, her head shifting slightly,

"Delphine," Cosima called, louder this time. Delphine's eyes moved beneath their lids, half opening, "We're here."

Delphine tried to resist the overwhelming urge to close her eyes again, "Sleep…" She mumbled, "Please…"

"Later Delphine, it's not safe here, come on," Cosima urged, pulling on the woman's arm.

Delphine rubbed her eyes and stretched her legs as much as she could in the cramped, small backseat.

Meanwhile, Sarah pulled back the sliding door to Felix's home and the man in question spun around at the sound of unexpected intrusion.

"Sarah! Where have you been?!" He asked half angry and half relived, but that all dissolved in a heartbeat when he saw the small brunette by her side, "KIRA!" He cried, reaching his arms out for the girl to run into, "You found Kira! Are you okay?" He asked them both as Kira ran into him and he scooped her up in a tight protective hug.

"We're fine," Sarah said.

"Hey Monkey, Where have you been? Your Mummy and I have been looking for you, you know?" Felix said in a soft voice, carrying the young child who nodded her reply..

"Hey Felix…." Sarah started, ushering Elissa in with her.

Felix turned back to face Sarah, spotting the second child for the first time, "Oh, hello, what's your name?"

Elissa looked up at Sarah, hanging onto the edge of her jumper and looking back down the corridor for any sign of Delphine.

"This is Elissa," Sarah said, moving into the room, "Delphine found her and Kira, she saved them both from the Center while getting a cure for Cosima."

"Delphine?" Felix questioned.

"Oui?" Delphine answered, her and Cosima appearing in the open doorway.

"Holy- Sarah, you've got a lot of explaining to do!" Felix said, putting Kira down and watching with interest as Elissa attached herself to Delphine the minute she saw the blonde, "Oh, and I don't have enough room for you all, unless you want to pay rent so I suggest you find somewhere else," Felix said, feeling a little sour for being left out of the loop. Again.

Sarah leant back to whisper to Cosima and Delphine, "Yeah I wouldn't recommend that, knowing Fe he'd tell you to model for him…"

"What's so bad-"

"Nude modelling Cos," Sarah said and then moved further into the room, barely hearing the little 'Oh' that followed, "We're finally doing it Fe, we're going to get away with Kira, we gotta sort a few things out but we gotta leave now, start packing yeah?"

"Yeah, okay…." Felix said, peeling off and bustling about the room, "Alright, but yu're serious? This is it, we're going?"

"Yeah, get going, we don't have long!" Sarah urged, pulling a few items from here and there to assist.

"Um, Sarah?" Cosima questioned, "Just one thing, do we have any idea of where we can go?"

"Yeah actually, I do have one really idiotic idea…" Sarah said and Felix just groaned, sinking into a chair, he didn't like the sound of that.


End file.
